DES MOINES — Angelica Attinger, Sophia Hatcher and Edyn Cowles had a lot on their plates Friday evening at the Iowa high school state track and field meet in Des Moines.
The three Ames girls had to do the 4x200-meter relay, plus an individual event in quick succession.
The 4x200 was slated to start at 4:55 p.m. and Attinger had to run in the 400 hurdles at 6:10. Hatcher and Cowles had it tougher as they were doing the long jump, which started at 4:30.
Even with all the hoopla going on, all three athletes excelled. They teamed to place third in the 4x200, Hatcher took seventh and Cowles 15th in the long jump, and Attinger won a bronze medal with a third-place finish in the 400 hurdles.
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“A lot of our workouts are tailored toward endurance,” Attinger said. “I think that helps a lot.”
Attinger, Cowles and Hatcher joined up with state veteran Saylor Horras to run a 1:42.78 in the 4x200. That time was 1.19 seconds faster than the Little Cyclones' qualifying time, and it got them a spot on the podium behind Waukee Northwest (1:39.15) and Sioux City East (1:42.01).
“I was trying to get all my jumps in before we ran relays, so I was pretty nervous going into it,” Cowles said. “I just needed to carry my weight. It turned out really good. I think all the adrenaline I had really helped me. I’m very grateful for my coaches and my teammates. Without them, I don’t think I’d be able to do what I did today.”
Hatcher was there to help keep Cowles focused. Cowles' best jump was 16 feet, seven inches.
“I was just trying to tell Edyn to worry about one thing at a time,” Hatcher said. “Just don’t worry about it, I will come and get you, just worry about your jumps. I think she did an incredible job.”
Hatcher got her jumps in after the 4x200.
“It was really stressful because I didn’t get to do run-throughs, so I was really scared my mark was going to be completely off,” Hatcher said. “I was trying not to think about it too much. After the first two I scratched, so I wanted to get my last one a good jump on the mark and I did that.”
Hatcher jumped 17-1 after her two scratches to reach the finals. She hit her best jump of 17-2 on the first jump of the finals and followed with distances of 16-9 and 17-0.75.
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Attinger said she was not in top form during the 400 hurdles.
“It didn’t feel like my best,” Attinger said. “I think the heat had a lot to do with it.”
But she still beat her qualifying time of 1:03.84 by running a 1:03.33.
“I’m so proud of Angelica,” Hatcher said. “The 400 hurdles is a very tough event. She kicked butt in the 4x2, then went straight to the 400 hurdles and did amazing in that.”
Waukee Northwest's Avery Winter won the race in 1:02.11 and Pleasant Valley's Jessie Clemons was a close second in 1:02.17.
Attinger said she's happy with third place. She still has two more years to earn a state championship in the event.
“I’m happy,” Attinger said. “I think I made a lot of growth and I’ve still got two more years. I’ve got a little bit left in me.”
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 three Ames girls navigated a busy Friday afternoon at the state track and field meet
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