Cardinals Rewrite Record Books at Bobcat Invitational

The Maquoketa girls’ track and field team delivered a historic performance Thursday night at Western Dubuque High School, finishing 4th in a competitive seven-team field at the Bobcat Invitational. The night was defined by shattered records and outstanding performances across both the track and the field.

The highlight of the evening came in the 800m run, where Natalie Hackman produced a record breaking performance. Hackman clocked a blistering 2:16.66 to take first place, officially breaking a school record that had stood for 42 years. The previous mark of 2:19.24 was set by Becky Bradley in 1984.

Izzy Hardin continued her dominance in the 1500m run, where she bested her own school record. Hardin shaved three full seconds off her previous best, winning the event with a time of 4:41.17. Charlotte Ihns added to the point total in the 1500m with a strong third-place finish and a season-best time of 5:32.53.

Cora Widel had a standout night, sweeping through the sprint events. Widel won the 200m dash with a season-best 26.14. She followed that up with a massive performance in the 400m dash, moving into second place on the all-time school list with a time of 59.58, placing her just a fraction of a second behind the 1980 record.

Widel then teamed up with Natalie Hackman, Justice Armbruster, and Isabel Hopson in the 4×400 relay. The quartet took home the gold medal with a personal record of 4:08.54, a time that secures them the #2 spot in school history for the event.

• High Jump: Isabel Hopson cleared 5-02 to take 2nd place.

• Long Jump: Millie Wing set a personal record of 15-02 to finish 5th, followed closely by Jo Ochoa (6th, 15-01.5) and Atty Moore, who notched a PR of 13-10.5.

• Throws: Madilyn Koch took 6th in the Discus with a personal best of 92-03, while freshman Harper Gjerstad continued her upward trajectory, placing 5th in Shot Put with a 28-06 toss.

• Justice Armbruster earned 4th in the 100m hurdles (16.94) and 3rd in the 400m hurdles (1:11.00).

• Emrie Petersen recorded personal records in both hurdle events (20.91 and 1:22.18).

• Ryley Galloway placed 8th in the 100m dash (13.95).

• The Distance Medley team of Riley Buttz, Emrie Petersen, Ella Gibson, and Clara Ihns finished 7th with a time of 5:44.42.

The Cardinals will look to carry this record-breaking momentum into their next meet at the Tipton Tigers Co-Ed Invitational on Tuesday.