Karlee Warnke Reached 16’ 4 1/4” In The Long Jump And Was Runner Up At State. Photo Courtesy Of Jons Gallery

Abby Schreck Clears The Obstacle In The Shuttle Hurdle Relay At State. She Anchored The Event All Season Long And Was The Wolverines’ Top Performer In The 100 Meter Hurdles. Photo Courtesy Of Jons Gallery

Annika Jenness Breaks From The Starting Blocks In The 100 Meter Prelims. Her Finish In The Finals Brought Her A Second Place Medal. Photo Courtesy Of Jons Gallery

The South O’Brien Girls’ Track & Field Team Earned State Runner Up. The Team Placed Ten Events In The State Meet Earning Several Medals In Running, Field And Relay Events. Congratulations To The Wolverines! Front Row Left To Right: Marissa Tavarez Ebel, Sophia Faust, Hannah Dau, Madison Jungers,, Willa Sickelka, Abby Schreck Back Row Left To Right: Coach Aaron Giese, Riley Draper, Annika Jenness, Karlee Warnke, Grace Fuhrman, Kenna Bauer, Coach Mark Fuhrman.

At State Willa Sickelka Set The New School Record Of 26.32 In The 200 Meter Prelims. She Would Go On To A Second Place Finish In The Finals. Photo Courtesy Of Jons Gallery

Number two ain’t bad. And that number turned up more than once for the South O’Brien girls at the State Track and Field Meet held May 20-22 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines. The ultimate appearance of that number came with the Wolverine team finishing number two in the state in Class 1A.
That status is due in large part to second place finishes by Annika Jenness in the 100 meters, Willa Sickelka in the 200 meters, Karlee Warnke in the long jump and the 4×100 relay quartet of Jenness, Hannah Dau, Warnke and Sickelka.
The sprint medley relay nearly joined that group of runner-up events but it was overtaken at the finish line. Placing third in the event were Jenness, Maddy Jungers, Warnke, and Sickelka. The 4×200 also earned medals for Jenness, Dau, Warnke and Sickelka after a sixth place finish.
Sickelka’s time of 26.32 in the 200 meter prelims set a new school record. For the second meet in a row, a school mark was broken by the sprint medley group. The new record is 1:52.45.
“It has been a great year for the girls track team,” expressed Wolverine head coach Mark Fuhrman. “We have not had very many track meets where the weather was very nice but every night the girls came out and gave their best effort. The state meet was no exception to this. We just kept improving all season long with a lot of our best times coming in the district track meet in Lawton.”
South O’Brien totaled 41 team points at state to finish one point ahead of third-place Tri Center, Neola. The team champion in Class 1A, with 51 points, was Madrid. The Tigers denied South O’Brien wins in the 100 meter dash and in the 4×100 meter relay. Jenness was first out of the blocks in the 100 and led for most of the way, only to be caught and passed at the end by Madrid’s Ella Santi. In the 4×100 the Tigers held the lead as the teams hit the final stretch and won by just over a second.
Both Jenness and Sickelka qualified third overall for their individual finals. Each sprinter then bettered a competitor in the finals who had beaten her in the prelims.
Three more Wolverine relays took their turns running on the blue oval. The shuttle hurdle of Kenna Bauer, Marissa Ebel, Riley Draper and Abby Schreck placed 22nd. Bauer, Schreck, Grace Fuhrman and Sophia Faust combined to finish 23rd in the 4×400. The 4×800 placed 24th with the quartet of Faust, Fuhrman, Schreck and Bauer.
Team Results (top 10)
Madrid 51, South O’Brien 41, Tri-Center, Neola 40, Algona Bishop Garrigan 34, North Cedar 30, Danville 30, Fort Dodge St. Edmond 24, West Bend-Mallard 22, Turkey Valley, Jackson Junction 22, Lisbon 20, Kee, Lansing 20.
South O’Brien Results
Long Jump: Karlee Warnke, 2nd, 16’ 4-1/4”.
100 Meter Dash: Annika Jenness, 3rd in prelims, 12.71, 2nd in finals 12.81.
200 Meter Dash: Willa Sickelka, 3rd in prelims, 26.32, 2nd in finals, 26.41.
400 Meter Hurdles: Taja Conley, Did Not Start.
4×100 Meter Relay: (Jenness, Hannah Dau, Warnke, Sickelka) 2nd in prelims, 50.73, 2nd in finals, 52.00.
4×200 Meter Relay: (Jenness, Dau, Warnke, Sickelka) 6th, 1:48.36.
4×400 Meter Relay: (Kenna Bauer, Abby Schreck, Grace Fuhrman, Sophia Faust) 23rd, 4:39.18.
4×800 Meter Relay: (Faust, Fuhrman, Schreck, Bauer), 24th, 11:49.53.
Sprint Medley Relay: (Jenness, Maddy Jungers, Warnke, Sickelka) 3rd, 1:52.45.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay: (Bauer, Marissa Ebel, Riley Draper, Schreck) 22nd, 1:18.45.