DES MOINES — Pella Christian deservedly earned all the attention, but it did not take away from a standout performance from Roland-Story in the Class 2A girls 4x200-meter relay at the Iowa state track and field meet Friday at Drake Stadium.
Pella Christian became the first 2A team to go under 1:40 in the 4x200. The Eagles won the event with the second-fastest overall time in state history at 1:39.72.
If it had not been for that remarkable performance, Roland-Story would have stood atop the podium.
Roland-Story placed second to Pella Christian with a PR time of 1:42.88. That time would have been the new 2A state record if not for the Eagles.
“It felt great,” said Roland-Story anchor runner Kamryn Lande. “Pella Christian is great. It felt great to be second. We ran a huge PR. It’s just a good start to the week.”
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Even though they came up one spot shy of a state title, the Norse runners said they know there is no shame in taking second to an elite team.
“It just felt so good to be able to race against Pella Christian,” said Norse runner Kennedy Petersen. “They’re a great competitor.”
Petersen ran the second leg for Roland-Story. Adalyn Sporleder got Roland-Story off to a great start before getting Petersen the baton, and the momentum kept building from there.
“All of these people can carry it out,” said Sporleder. “We can always trust each other to get (our team) in a good spot.”
The chemistry between the four runners enabled Roland-Story to easily beat the mark it was shooting for entering the meet. Roland-Story qualified in 1:45.61.
“I didn’t think we could get under 1:45,” Petersen said. “That was our goal, but to get that far under? That was insane.”
Sporleder, Petersen and Lande are all juniors. Lauryn Kilstofte ran the third leg, and she is the only senior on the team.
Kilstofte said it was nice to earn a silver medal during her final year. But she and her teammates were not done.
All four runners on Roland-Story's 4x200 team joined up again Friday to run a 2A record in qualifying for the finals in the 4x100 relay prelims. The Norse clocked in at 49.14.
“As a senior running with three juniors, I’m glad we could do this for my last year,” Kilstofte said. “We’re just getting started.”
Gilbert takes eighth in 3A girls 4x200
Gilbert also picked up a point in the girls 4x200 during Friday's morning session of the state track and field meet.
The Tiger team of Taylor Banning, Keaton Hanson, Laurel Mizerak and Gretchen Mizerak clocked in at 1:44.21 to place eighth. MOC-Floyd Valley won the 3A girls 4x200 in 1:42.06.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com . Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: How Roland-Story earned a silver medal in the 2A girls 4x200 relay at the state track meet
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