Cardinals Rewrite Record Books at Tipton Tiger Relays

The Maquoketa girls track and field team turned in an impressive performance at the Tipton Tiger Relays on Tuesday night, highlighted by two broken school records and a stadium-shattering run in the 4×400 relay. The unusually nice evening provide the right vibe during the 4×400 relay, where the quartet of Natalie Hackman, Isabel Hopson, Justice Armbruster, and Cora Widel didn’t just win—they dominated. The team clocked a blistering 4:02.95, shattering both the Maquoketa school record and the Tipton Stadium record. The performance was a massive improvement, knocking nearly six seconds off their previous season best.

The Distance Medley team of Armbruster, Hopson, Widel, and Hackman continued the record-breaking trend, lowering their own school record by five seconds (4:12.49) to further solidify their place in Cardinal history. The night began with momentum in the Sprint Medley. Millie Wing, Mack McLaughlin, Justice Armbruster, and Cora Widel notched a season best of 1:52.23, earning 3rd place and moving into 4th all-time in school history.

Other relay highlights included:

• 4×800: Riley Buttz, Charlotte Ihns, Emrie Petersen, and Clara Ihns took 5th (11:42).

• 4×200: Anniston Starr, Mack McLaughlin, Millie Wing, and Ava Ferguson placed 7th (1:58.63).

• 4×100: Wing, McLaughlin, Tenley Thole, and Buttz sprinted to a 6th-place finish with a season-best time.

Individual Standouts

On the individual side, Natalie Hackman controlled the 800m from start to finish, claiming 1st place in 2:22. Cora Widel added to the team score with a 2nd-place finish in the 200m (26.14), followed by a solid 28.73 from Riley Buttz.

In the hurdles, Justice Armbruster clocked a season-best 1:06.21 in the 400m hurdles, while teammate Emrie Petersen also secured a personal record in the same event. Charlotte Ihns battled in the 1500m to take home the bronze medal in 5:33.53, and Tenley Thole cut two seconds off her previous best in the 400m (1:06.6) to finish 4th.

The Cardinals were equally impressive in the field:

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

• Long Jump: Jo Ochoa leaped 14-3 to finish 8th.

• Shot Put: Harper Gjerstad threw a personal record of 28-10.25, placing 8th.

While the majority of the Cardinals will travel to West Delaware this Thursday, all eyes will be on Izzy Hardin as she represents Maquoketa at the Drake Relays. Hardin is scheduled to compete in the 3000m on Thursday and the 1500m on Saturday.