Dubuque Hempstead's Ally Darter is becoming 1-of-1 in Iowa state track record books

Ally Darter pulls up to the line on the Blue Oval and bows her head, waiting for the trigger pull of the start gun.

The Dubuque Hempstead junior’s neon pink racing wheelchair sits sandwiched between two competitors – West Liberty’s Payton Maas and Central Elkader’s Zoey Hyde.

Darter’s hands, padded by racing gloves, connect with the push rims of her chair as the gun’s bang ricochets through the concrete stands. It’s an even race at the start, when all three competitors push off.

But it isn’t long before Darter is racing herself.

After two laps around the track, she crossed the finish line in under three minutes – 2:55.22 to be exact. That mark shattered the state meet record in the girls 800-meter wheelchair race, previously set by Darter in 2022.

Her sub-three-minute time also set a new all-time Iowa best, replacing the mark of 3:08.81 set by Sheldon’s Keri Siebrecht in 2019.

“I felt really good, I felt really free,” Darter said after her 800 race Friday. “The track felt really good today. There was no wind, which really helped.”

Darter knew she could beat the best time ever in the event, with her previous personal best coming up about a second short. She didn't know she would come in over 13 seconds faster than Siebrecht's mark.

But if Darter has proven anything over the past three years, it’s that she’s in a league of her own.

As a freshman, she took first place in the wheelchair 100, 200, 400 and shot put.

As a sophomore, she took first place in the wheelchair 100, 200, 400 and shot put.

As a junior — at this year's state meet — she took first place in the wheelchair 200, 400, 800 and shot put.

Time and time again, Darter set the standard and it’s put her in elite company.

Only one other female athlete in Iowa history has won four events at the state track meet three times: Dike-New Hartford’s Hannah Willms, who claimed three titles each in the 200, 400, high jump and sprint medley between 2008 and 2010.

With her four wins in the 2024 meet, Darter became the first female wheelchair athlete to win four state track meet events three times.

“That would be really, really exciting,” Darter said on Friday before competing in her final three events at the state meet.

For track and field athletes, there is nothing better than winning a state title. Darter knows that feeling better than most, or at least, she’s experienced it more.

But, to Darter, that isn’t the most important part of competing.

“That’s really my goal, to give a lot of recognition to Iowa’s adaptive athletes,” Darter said.

Iowa track and field fans are in for an even bigger treat with Darter, though.

The Dubuque Hempstead star is only a junior, which means she’ll have the chance to claim four more titles next season.

It’s a little too far to look ahead, but let's do it anyway.

Because if Darter finishes her senior season with four additional state titles, she’ll cement her spot as truly one-of-one: the only female athlete to ever win four events, four times in Iowa's history.

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel .

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Dubuque Hempstead's Ally Darter is becoming 1-of-1 in Iowa state track record books