Panthers race in wind, cold

WINTERSET — A big difference from last week’s weather, the Panthers track and field teams competed in the cold and wind Thursday in Winterset.

Girls

Taking home a first-place medal for the lady Panthers was senior Doryn Paup in the discus with a throw of 106-05. “She won the discus competition for the 2nd time this week- throwing a personal best,” Coach Maggie Arnold said. “Doryn is such a great leader for our squad by doing what needs to be done in each of her events and in her personal life.  Anyone who has Doryn as a teammate will benefit just by being around her.” Paup also took second in the 400 meter hurdles in a time of 1:13.22.

The 4x800 meter relay team of Ella Turner, Emma Pantini, Payton Davis and Sydney Strunk, finished third in a time of 11:19.28. “This relay has been the most consistent for us this season, always placing at meets,” Arnold said.

Also finding bronze was the girls sprint medley relay team of Maylee Riley, Karter Clayton, Doryn Paup and Kadley Bailey in a time of 2:07.44.

“The first three legs of the events put us in a great spot when Kadley Bailey got the baton,” Arnold said. “She picked up a place on her anchor leg for the Panthers and ran a really impressive split.”

Senior Pantini also took third in her 800m race. “Emma Pantini ran what I personally think was the race of her life,” Arnold said. “We talked about it after she was finished. It was not a personal best time on the chilly, windy night, but she was really competitive. She got aggressive in the last 100 (meters) to hold off the rest of the field down the home stretch. It was great to see her get competitive and finish that race.”

The distance medley relay team of Riley, Braylee Pokorny, Turner and Davis also took third.

“Payton Davis had some great races on the night,” Arnold said. “She has really come into her own this season. We always knew she was capable of running these times, and now she is believing it herself.  She had an excellent night and continues to earn herself positions in big relays and is also relied upon for medals, scoring in individual events.”

Rounding out the evening was an impressive second-place finish by the 4x400m relay team of Pokorny, Pantini, Paup and Davis. “It was an awesome race to finish the night,” Arnold said. “All the girls ran some excellent splits and just keep looking stronger at the end of the meet.”

The girls return to action Monday in Glenwood.

Boys

The boys continued to have success with the distance medley relay team of Payton Conley, Brandon Briley, Austin Evans and Chris Aragon.

“Another gold medal performance,” Arnold said. “Senior Chris Aragon anchored the relay.  He had to really gut it out in the final stretch of the race to fend off a surging field. He had to run a personal record in order to secure the victory for his team.”

Running new races Thursday were Jackson Pettegrew and Briley.

“Freshman Jackson Pettegrew ran his first 800 race and ran a really impressive split,” Arnold said. “He had a great night. He really embraced running the new event and really attacked it.” The 4x800m relay team ended with a fifth-place finish.

“Junior Brandon Briley competed in his first mile of the season,” Arnold said. “He ran an 8-second personal best in the event. It was really promising to see him knock the rust off in that event. He ran a really smooth race and had a great finish. That time will continue to drop this season.” Briley’s time of 4:42.33 was enough for a second-place finish in the event.

Max Chapman placed third in discus with a 137-04 throw and Jaydan Pettegrew took third in the 110 m high hurdles.

Rounding out the evening was a close 4x400m relay. “The 4x400 squad was in a tight race through the majority of the event,” Arnolds said. “Eventually falling to 4th place. Aragon, Evans and Jackson Pettegrew continued their great evening running on that squad. They were teamed up with Jaydan Pettegrew on the anchor leg.”

The boys return to action Tuesday at North Polk High School.