Des Moines, here we come

Geoff PrestonRed Oak ExpressAt the start of the season, every runner, thrower and jumper in the state of Iowa has their eyes on Des Moines and the state championship meet.During the past week, athletes from Griswold, Essex, Stanton, East Mills, Southwest Valley and Red Oak competed in district qualifying meets.Classes 1A, 2A and 3A will be represented by Southwest Iowa athletes.Stanton:The Stanton boys have had dominant seasons from Chris Jones and Alex Betchold, and unsurprisingly those are the two athletes the Vikings are sending to state.Jones is on his way to Des Moines after a dominant performance in the 100 and 200 meter dashes.It has been a record breaking season for Betchold in the shot put and discus, but especially in the discus. After already competing in the Drake Relays, Betchold will be going back to Des Moines to compete in the discus and shot put.On the girls side, the shuttle hurdle team will be heading to Des Moines to compete.Red OakFor Red Oak, it was another case of the usual suspect who has led the team all season will be rewarded with a trip to state.Juhi Boeye qualified in the 200 and 400 meter dashes.The sprint medley team of Maysen Havener, Sydney Streicher, Hannah Vial and Boeye that head coach Curtis Adams thought had a chance to go to the state meet barley missed out on a trip. They finished third and needed to break the top two.Southwest ValleyThe Timberwolves also have an athlete who has raced in Des Moines already this season, but he was unable to qualify this season.Tony Klocke hyper-extended his knee in the shuttle hurdle relay going over the sixth hurdle, ending his night and affecting the rest of the team.“In less than a minute, I saw the wind go out of our sails,” head coach Allen Naugle said. “Our guys did their best and I am extremely proud of how hard they competed for the rest of the night.”GriswoldThe Griswold boys sent two athletes to the state meet. David Thompson, who has had an incredible season in distance events, will be going for the 3,200 meet title.Jadon Jahnke will also be going to state for the long jump.East MillsEast Mills’ night was dominated by one name, Janette Schraft. The freshman qualified for four out of four events that she was entered in.Schraft will be representing East Mills in the 1,500 meter run and the 3,000 meter run.EssexEssex’s night on the boys side was highlighted by Cody McClintock , who won the 1,600-meter and will be going to state.“I’m definitely pleased with our performance today,” head coach Jon Denton said following the meet. “A lot of these guys ran their best times today, and as a coach you want your athletes to be peaking at the end of the season.”The girls team will be sending two athletes to state, and they are familiar with Des Moines because they were there last season.Daiton Martin will be going in the 100-meter dash and Jescenia Mosley will be going in the 100-meter hurdles.“They ran, they competed,” head coach Liz Skillern said. I’m very proud of all m y athletes.”