The South Hamilton Hawks boys and girls track teams returned to action on Thursday, as they made the trip to Boone County to compete in their Class 1A State Qualifying Meet at Randy Hinkel Field in Madrid. The Hawks were joined by the host Tigers, as well as AC/GC, AGWSR, Ankeny Christian, Audubon, CAM, Colo-NESCO, Coon Rapids-Bayard, Empigo, Glidden-Ralston, Nodaway Valley, Paton-Churdan, West Fork and Woodward Academy.
South Hamilton’s boys would place runner-up in the meet with 107 points, 18 points behind meet champions AC/GC. The Hawks meet was highlighted by a dominant overall performance from junior Kolby Hodnefield, who began his night by anchoring the winning sprint medley, which won in a stadium-record time of 1:35.14 with the team of Severseike-Young-Twedt-Hodnefield. Hodnefield would then win the 100m Dash in a time of 11.11 seconds, followed shortly thereafter by winning the 400m dash in a time of 48.87 seconds, shattering the former Madrid Stadium record by over 2 seconds. Hodnefield would make it a perfect 4-for-4 by winning the 200m dash in a time of 22.33, to qualify in 4 events for the state meet. Senior Nick Severseike would get an auto-bid to the state meet as well, winning the 800m run in a season-best time of 2:03.13, while also placing 3rd in the 400m dash in a season-best time of 51.03. Braden Young would place 2nd in the long jump, with a mark of 21′ 5.75″.
South Hamilton’s girls would place 5th with 76 points on the night, and came away with one automatic qualifier to the state meet in the 4×100, which won in a season-best time of 52.72 with the team of Flaugh-Van De Pol-Lammers-Doolittle. The Hawks would also place 2nd in the 4×200 in a season-best time of 1:51.22 with the team of Flaugh-Van De Pol-Scheller-Doolittle, likely putting them in an at-large spot at the state meet. The 4×400 would place 3rd in a season-best time of 4:20.80 with the team of Herrick-Doolittle-Beaune-Scheller, also entering the possibility of an at-large berth. Claire Hewitt would place 2nd in the long jump with a mark of 15′ 4.5″, while Tessa Skartvedt finished 5th in a loaded shot put field, with a throw of 35′ 9.25″, also possibly in a spot for an at-large qualifier.