Maquoketa Girls Track Results from West Branch

Cardinals Demonstrate Championship Mental Toughness in Wet Conditions at West Branch

Under a sky that refused to stop leaking, the Cardinals turned the West Branch track into their own personal stage at the Chad Gates Invitational. Despite a relentless, non-stop rain that made running, jumping and throwing a challenge and the track a gauntlet of puddles, Maquoketa’s grit shone through, securing a second-place team finish behind the four-gold-medal performance from Cora Widel. Widel put on a clinic. Her night began with a statement in the 100m Dash, where she ignored the spray to clock a Personal Record (PR) of 13.08. She followed that speed showcase with commanding victories in the 200m Dash (26.51) and the 400m (1:01.9). Widel capped her outstanding night by teaming up with Isabel Hopson, Natalie Hackman and Justice Armbruster to anchor the 4x400m Relay to a first-place finish (4:19.10), the whole relay team proved that even in the final event of a cold, wet night, they are not going let anything get in the way of a tremendous season.

Widel wasn’t the only Cardinal to find the top of the podium through the mist.

• Natalie Hackman showed incredible strength in the 800m Run, navigating the puddles to take 1st place with a time of 2:23.10.

• In the field events, Isabel Hopson defied the slippery approach to win the High Jump, clearing 5-3 a personal record for her young high school career to claim the gold and place her tied for the third best jump in school history.

The Cardinals picked up crucial points across nearly every event:

• The 4x800m crew (Riley Buttz, Charlotte Ihns, Emrie Petersen, and Ella Gibson) took on the worst of the early evening rain to finish 3rd in 11:34.64.

• The Sprint Medley (Ryley Galloway, Mack McLaughlin, Millie Wing, and Justice Armbruster) fought through the spray for a 3rd place finish (2:01.67).

• Justice added a silver medal to the tally with a strong 2nd place finish in the 400m Hurdles (1:09.62), while the 100m Hurdles saw a 3rd place effort in 16.89.

• The 4 x 200 relay finished in 3rd place – Ryley Galloway, Isabel Hopson, Ava Ferguson, and Mack McLaughlin

• The Distance Medley team Mack McLaughlin, Millie Wing, Emily Siegrist and Riley Buttz finished 6th with a time of 5:16.41

For full results: https://results.aatiming.com/meets/62685/teams/1547810