While the school year winds down, the track season is heating up with one of the state qualifying meets occurring on Thursday, May 14, at Indianola High School Stadium.
The Iowa High School State Track meet is this week, May 21-23 at Drake Stadium. Tickets and other information can be found on the IHSAA website.
The Norwalk Boys Track and Field Team qualified multiple individual events and relays from a variety of athletes.
Senior Kaiden Kunze, a state qualifier in the 100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter dash, and long jump, said he’s trying to live more in the present in his final year.
“I’m just trying to make the most of every moment, and cherishing every goal, no matter if you have a good race or not,” he said. “I just want to take it all in before college next year.”
Kunze said he credits his success to his competitive nature.
“I’m just competitive,” he said. “I strive to win every event I’m a part of, and I believe that mindset is contagious, which is why I believe our team has been successful.”
Other individual qualifiers are Logan Atherton in the high jump, Xavier Bush in the 400-meter hurdles, and Sam Parker in the 800-meter dash.
Sam Parker said that these final meets are bittersweet.
“I’m really looking forward to just running at state, running with the guys,” he said. “I’m going to miss track, but I’m also excited for where my life will take me after this, where I don’t have to be running two meets a week.”
Parker said that the state meet is an environment like no other.
“State is different from Drake,” he said. “Some guys might not realize that state is very different. The atmosphere is insane. It’s a packed stadium. It’s crazy.”
Parker said he hopes that his previous experience at the state meet can help the newcomers.
“I feel like having the experience is going to be calming,” he said. “I hope that I can just help the other guys on the team take advantage of the opportunity and remember what you’re there to do.”
The relays that qualified for state include sprint medley team of Breck Welch, Ethan Winslow, Jamison Giesemann, and Xavier Bush qualified; the 4 x 800 of Sam Buhrow, Aksel Beedon, Brayden Walderbach, and Sam Parker qualified; the distance medley team of Breck Welch, Braeden Kelling, Sam Buhrow, and Jamison Giesemann qualified; and the 4 x 200 squad of Breck Welch, Ethan Winslow, Jamison Giesemann, and Xavier Bush qualified.
Junior Ethan Winslow qualified for state last year in the open 100-meter dash and qualified with three relays this year. Winslow said he will have a different approach being on relays.
“This year it’s going to be a bit different,” he said. “I was in an open last year, but now I’m going to be working with more people and require more teamwork.”
Winslow said he thinks that Norwalk’s success at state is dependent on collaboration.
“We just need to all stay connected and be on so we can do our best at state,” he said.
