2025 Iowa High School State Track & Field Championships
May 22, Drake Stadium, Des Moines, Iowa
Weather: 3pm —57 degrees, partly sunny, winds from northwest at 10 mph...5 pm—61 degrees, overcast skies, winds from northwest at 9 mph....7 pm— 60 degrees,partly sunny, winds from northwest at 7 mph.
ATTENDANCE: 14,106 (SECOND HIGHEST FOR FIRST-DAY SESSION TRAILING RECORD 14,308 IN 2023)
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the final report for Thursday's opening session of the Iowa High School State Track & Field Championships from Drake Stadium, covering the Class 1A & 4A sessions which started at 2:55 p.m
GIRLS DIVISION
RECORDS
—Class 4A shuttle hurdle relay -- 1:00.40 West Des Moines Valey. Old record 1:00.44, Dowling Catholic, 2022
—Class 1A 3000 – 9:42.04, Lili Denton, Council Bluffs St. Albert. Old record 9:56.54, Leah Sievert, Sibley-Ocheyedan, 2013.
—Class 4A discus – 158-8, Delilah Subsin, Ottumwa. Old record 156-4, Taylor Freeman, Iowa City West, 2008.
TOP TEN ALL-TIME
—West Des Moines Valley, No. 1 shuttle hurdle relay, 1:00.40
—Lili Denton, Council Bluffs. St. Albert No. 8 3000, 9:42.04
—Delilah Subsin, Ottumwa, No. 6 discus, 158-8
—Pleasant Valley, No. 2 4x800 relay, 9:00.75
—Johnston, No. 3 4x800 relay, 9:03.39
—Waukee Northwest, No. 7 4x800 relay, 9:10.29
REPEATING
—Lili Denton of Council Bluffs St. Albert won the Class 1A 3000 for the second straight year.
—Pleasant Valley won the Class 4A 4x800 relay for the second straight year.
—Kadence Huck of Nashua-Plainfield won the Class 1A 400 for the third time in four years.
NOTES
Hard To Grab These Tigers By The Tail
With Emma Havighurst anchoring, West Des Moines Valley is an absolute force in the shuttle hurdle relay. The Tigers were at their best in the event’s preliminaries, running 1:00.40, the fastest time ever logged in the state. Havighurst is the defending state champion and all-time leader in the 100 hurdles and she practically flew over the barriers on her anchor run. Dowling Catholic had the previous all-time best of 1:00.44 in 2022. Valley’s next goal is becoming the first team to run under one minute, which the Tigers will shoot for in Saturday’s finals.
That Was One Fast Race
The pace in the Class 4A 4x800 relay was so swift that three teams ended up among the top 10 on the state’s all-time list. Pleasant Valley won the race for the second straight year in 9:00.75, which is No. 2 all-time and ranks eighth in the country this spring. Runner-up Johnston ran 9:03.39, which is third on the all-time list, and third-place finisher Waukee Northwest claimed the No. 8 spot at 9:10.29. The Pleasant Valley quartet that won last year’s title is the all-time leader at 8:59.03. Grace Boleyn anchored for Pleasant Valley in 2:11.15. Olivia Fehn was even faster on her anchor leg for Johnston, running 2:10.83.
Denton Does It Again – By A Wide Margin
Talk about running away with a title … Lili Denton of Council Bluffs St. Albert did just that in winning the Class 1A 3000 for the second year in a row. Denton sped to a huge lead at the start and shattered the meet record even with no one remotely close to push her, finishing in 9:42.04. That moves her to No. 8 on the state’s all-time list and easily bettered the old record of 9:56.54 set by Sibley-Ocheyedan’s Leah Sievert in 2013. Pekin’s Chloe Glosser finished second in 10:14.43.
Substantial Throw From Subsin
Ottumwa’s Delilah Subsin followed up her Drake Relays title in the discus with an impressive state meet performance. Subsin won the Class 4A championship for the second year in a row with a record throw of 158-8, which puts her at No. 6 on the state’s all-time list. The old record was 156-4 by Iowa City West’s Taylor Freeman back in 2008. Subsin is the only Ottumwa athlete to win a field event at the girls state meet.
Strong Finish Carries Alta-Aurelia
Thirty-four years after winning its first state relay championship, Alta-Aurelia now has another. Anchor runner Nora Peterson eased into the lead on the final lap and held off Earlham’s Taylor Rogers to give Alta-Aurelia a victory in the Class 1A 4x800. The Warriors finished in 9:43.53 for the school’s first relay title since winning the 4x400 in 1991. Peterson turned in a fine anchor leg in 2:15.91. Taylor ran her 800 leg in 2:19.58 to get Earlham into second place in 9:43.94.
Huck Regains Title in 1A 400
After giving up her crown a year ago, Nashua-Plainfield’s Kadence Huck returned to the top step of the victory stand in the Class 1A 400. Huck breezed to a victory in the race in 55.61, which ranks No. 23 on the state’s all-time list and gave her three titles in the event. She won as a freshman and sophomore, then finished second last year. It was the ninth state championship overall for the standout senior, who’ll run at Oklahoma State next season.
