WAVERLY, Ia. — The South Hamilton Hawks and Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Cowgirls track and field teams opened their 2026 season on Monday afternoon, as they made the trip to northeast Iowa to compete in the Wartburg Invitational at the Waverly Sports and Wellness Center. The Hawks and Cowgirls were joined by Aplington-Parkersburg, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Clarksville, Clear Creek-Amana, Denver, Dike-New Hartford, Dubuque Hempstead, Gilbert, Grand View Christian, Hudson, Iowa City High, Iowa City Liberty, Iowa City West, Maquoketa Valley, Mason City, Midland, North Polk, Osage, Ottumwa, Union Community, Valley, Waterloo West, Waukee, Waukee Northwest, Waverly-Shell Rock, West Marshall and Xavier.
South Hamilton’s girls would send a full lineup, as their top placer was junior Tessa Skartvedt, who finished 5th in the shot put with a throw of 36′ 4.5″. Izzy Swenson placed 9th in the girls high jump by clearing 4′ 8″, while Stella Martensen finished 13th in the high jump by also clearing 4′ 8″. Senior Brooklyn Doolittle had the top finish in the individual running events, placing 15th in the 55m dash in a time of 7.99 seconds, while Riah Van De Pol placed 21st in a time of 8.09 seconds. The Hawks 4×200 would place 11th in a time of 1:58.57 with the team of Van De Pol-Trask-Gibson-Doolittle.
The South Hamilton boys top placer on Monday was junior Jesus Garcia, who placed 2nd in the boys 800m run in a time of 2:14.03, as Garcia also placed 4th in the 1600m run in a time of 4:56.44. Hayden Hill would grab a 10th place finish in the 3200m run in a time of 11:11.19, while Ben Swenson placed 12th in the shot put with a throw of 41′ 8.25″. The Hawks top relay was the 4×400, placing 17th in a time of 4:06.57 with the team of Christensen-Northrop-Gelder-Ziesman.
Clarion-Goldfield-Dows’s top placer on Monday was junior Addy Howell, who placed 11th in the girls high jump by clearing 4′ 8″. Aleena Schaffer had the top finish in an individual running event with a time of 10.12 seconds in the 55m hurdles, as the Cowgirls 4×800 had the best finish of their relays, placing 19th in a time of 13:30.19 with the team of Perez-Hoesing-Bobadilla-Woodley.
South Hamilton track and field returns to action on April 2nd, when they compete in the Ballard Co-ed Invitational at Rich Strouse Field in Huxley, beginning at 4:30 PM. The Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Cowgirls track and field team returns to action on March 26th, when they compete in the North Iowa Indoor Championships at the Clear Lake Athletics and Wellness Center, beginning at 4 PM.