Benton Community's Emmy Thompson won the 100-meter dash and the long jump at the Marion Invitational girls' track meet Thursday at Thomas Park Field (Gazette photo by Chris Mackler)
MARION — There isn’t a track in Springville, but there is a track team.
And on that track team is a gifted track athlete.
Brittany Clarke was a triple-winner at the Marion Invitational girls’ meet Thursday at Thomas Park Field, capturing 200- and 400-meter titles and bringing the Orioles from behind in the 400-meter relay.
No track? Not an issue.
“It’s really not a problem,” said Clarke, a junior. “We usually go down to Cornell (College, 10 miles away in Mount Vernon), to train.”
Clarke’s effort in the 200 — 26.00 seconds — broke an eight-year-old meet record.
She won the 400 in 1:00.69, then prevailed down the stretch in the 400 relay.
Clarke finished fourth in the Class 1A 100-meter dash and fifth in the 200 last year at state. She is seeded in the top three in the 200 and 400 this year, behind North Tama star Sara Stoakes in both.
“I watched her in the 100 at (the Drake Relays last week). It will be interesting to see where she runs, and where I run (at state),” Clarke said. “There are six events that are possibilities (for me). We’ll see which four I run in.”
Two-time defending 3A state champion Benton Community rolled to the team crown with 133 points. Marion was second with 81.
Benton won five events, including double-winner Emmy Thompson (long jump and 10o). Kaitlin Kromminga won the shot put, and the Bobcats claimed the 3,200-meter and sprint medley relays.
Marion’s Kelsey Labs won four events, including a school-record effort in the 400-meter hurdles.
She reset her school record in 1:05.62, in addition to triumphs in the 100 hurdles (15.39), the distance medley relay and a come-from-behind effort in the 1,600 relay. Her anchor split was 59.9 seconds.
As she has in the past two years, Labs seems to be hitting her stride as the end of the season approaches.
“(Coach Sherryl Gaffney-Paige) focuses on us peaking at the right time,” Labs said. “It worked really well last year.”
It was Senior Night at Marion, and Labs’ motto to her underclass teammates was, “If you laugh a lot, you’ll live longer.”
“I believe that,” she said. “I do laugh a lot. But when I get ready to run, I’m zoned in.”
Teams — 1. Benton Community 133, 2. Marion 81, 3. Fairfield 77, 4. Center Point-Urbana 68 1/2, 5. Vinton-Shellsburg 59, 6. Springville 48, 7. West Delaware 40 1/2, 8. Monticello 39, 9. Anamosa 30, 10. North Linn 20 1/2, 11. DeWitt Central 16 1/2, 12. Independence 7.
High jump — 1. Addy Rickels (VS), 5-1; 2. Maryn Fulton (Fair), 4-10; 3. (tie) Alecia Boysen (Monti) and Jordan Geertsema (Ind), 4-8; Shot put — 1. Kaitlin Kromminga (BC), 41-6 1/2; 2. Katie Hammes (Fair), 38-6; 3. Alyssa Biery (Mar), 37-3 1/4; Discus — 1. Katie Hammes (Fair), 115-9; 2. Sam Rinehart (Mar), 112-7; 3. Kaitlin Kromminga (BC), 106-11; Long jump — 1. Emmy Thompson (BC), 16-6 3/4; 2. Maddy Springer (VS), 16-1; 3. Kayla Sanborn (Ana), 15-7 1/2.
3,000 — 1. Megan Horst (VS), 11:49.90; 2. Amanda Melcher (Fair), 12:01.43; 3. Sadie Magnifico (Mar), 12:10.79; 3,200 relay — 1. Benton Community, 10:06.93; 2. Monticello, 10:21.36; 3. Center Point-Urbana, 10:29.55; Shuttle hurdle relay — 1. West Delaware, 1:09.89; 2. Benton Community, 1:11.47; 3. DeWitt Central, 1:11.59; 100 — 1. Emmy Thompson (BC), 12.85; 2. Libbey Schubert (Fair), 13.01; 3. Bri Whiting (CPU), 13.39; Distance medley relay — 1. Marion, 4:29.58; 2. Anamosa, 4:32.48; 3. Center Point-Urbana, 4:35.44; 400 — 1. Brittany Clarke (Spr), 1:00.69; 2. Madie Wilkin (CPU), 1:03.54; 3. Amanda Lamb (Fair), 1:03.93; 800 relay — 1. Springville, 1:51.61; 2. Center Point-Urbana, 1:52.45; 3. Vinton-Shellsburg, 1:53.21; 100 hurdles — 1. Kelsey Labs (Mar), 15.39; 2. Nichole Johnson (CPU), 15.80; 3. Chelsea Snitker (BC), 16.10; 800 — 1. Cammy Dole (Ana), 2:26.17; 2. Chelsea Burhite (Mar), 2:27.70; 3. Brittney Fry (Fair), 2:32.57; 200 — 1. Brittany Clarke (Spr), 26.00*; 2. Emmy Thompson (BC), 27.02; 3. Tess Reinig (WD), 27.50; 400 hurdles — 1. Kelsey Labs (Mar), 1:05.62; 2. Molly Rinderknecht (BC), 1:08.78; 3. Lindsay Smith (DC), 1:09.71; Sprint medley relay — 1. Benton Community, 1:55.33; 2. Center Point-Urbana, 1:55.75; 3. Springville, 1:56.62; 1,500 — 1. Clancy Hosch (Monti), 5:21.12; 2. Ashley Mills (BC), 5:21.57; 3. Erika Gauley (CPU), 5:26.00; 400 relay — 1. Springville, 51.82; 2. Benton Community, 51.89; 3. Vinton-Shellsburg, 52.49; 1,600 relay — 1. Marion, 4:13.84; 2. Center Point-Urbana, 4:14.36; 3. Benton Community, 4:15.97.
*meet record
Tags: Benton Community, Brittany Clarke, girls' track, Kelsey Labs, Marion Invitational
LINDER ON PREPS 
April 30, 2009 at 7:05 pm |
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April 30, 2009 at 11:05 pm |
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April 30, 2009 at 11:25 pm |
I just want to note that Springville was the only 1A school at this meet, and only have 13 girls on the roster…so 4 golds (they won the 4×200 also) and 6th place overall says a lot for the quality of our team.
Great Job Ladies!
May 1, 2009 at 11:15 am |
Clarke is REALLY good. Good quote too.
May 1, 2009 at 12:41 pm |
Yes…and she is really just discovering how good…which is a very GOOD thing for the Orioles.
Not to take away from the other girls who make up the core of our relays though, because those girls are no slouches either. Otten, Thies, & Vaughn are turning in 400 splits under 65 consistantly, and that 4×100 placed 8th last year at state and may well win it this year.
Springville should be a contender in Des Moines.
May 1, 2009 at 2:11 pm |
If they can score 20-30 points, that would be a pretty good meet. It won’t get them to “contention mode” but 30 might get them into the top 4-5. If Logan-Magnolia is still 1A, they’re a heavy favorite. North Tama’s still going to score well behind Stoakes. Am I leaving anyone else out?
May 1, 2009 at 2:23 pm |
Logan Magnolia bumped up to 2A, so that’s a plus for us. Corning and North Iowa have a couple top relay teams though…
We are currently sitting somewhere in the 1A top 8 in three relays and two opens…and I think Clarke can take it right to the finish with Stoakes, because she runs best when she is pushed..and so do our other three top relays.
I’ll go out on a limb and predict that we score 36 or higher…it’s true I’m biased, but I’ve been watching them since middle school, knowing they were going to be very very good.
I BELIEVE in those girls!
May 1, 2009 at 2:29 pm |
I’ll be able to give you a better answer after districts/regionals. To win, you’re going to have to get in the 40s, because Stoakes might get North Tama to 40 on her own. But, yes, if Lo-Ma is 2A, you’ve got a chance. I believe Northeast is 2A now because of its sharing arrangement with East Central. If Council Bluffs St. Albert is down, they might be a factor. They have a good distance girl.
June 26, 2009 at 1:01 pm |
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