Ames-area high schools will be well-represented by female athletes at the Iowa high school state track and field meet, which takes place May 21-23 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
All seven schools from the area — Ames, Ballard, Collins-Maxwell, Colo-NESCO, Gilbert, Nevada and Roland-Story — will be represented in girls track and field competition.
Several area athletes and relay teams have a chance to earn a medal, and some could even end up at the top of the podium. One area program will also contend for a top-10 spot in the team standings.
Here are five storylines featuring Ames-area female athletes and teams heading into the 2026 Iowa high school state track and field meet.
Will the Ames girls come out on top in any events?
The Ames girls track team has the potential to go for a state championship in multiple events.
Angelica Attinger will be going for a gold medal in the Class 4A girls 400-meter hurdles.
Attinger ran the sixth-best qualifying time at one minute, 3.12 seconds. Waukee’s Jana Maharry leads all 4A qualifiers with a 1:00.47 effort.
But even though she is a few seconds behind the leader, Attinger will be one of the favorites to take first in the event. She placed third at state as a sophomore, second as a junior, and she was runner-up to Iowa City High’s Maeve Bowen-Burt at the Drake Relays last month.
Sophia Hatcher will be hard-pressed to beat Linn-Mar’s Abby Mecklenberg in the long jump and Valley’s Morgan Karr and Waukee Northwest’s Katie Willits in the 100 hurdles, but stranger things have happened.
Ayak Akol could be a dark horse to win the 4A girls high jump. Akol’s 5-foot, 4-inch jump at the qualifying meet in Indianola ranked fourth among 4A qualifiers and she has jumped 5-5 this season, so if she could manage to clear the bar a couple of inches higher, a championship would likely be in her grasp.
How high can the Little Cyclones place in the 4A team standings?
Waukee Northwest is the heavy favorite to win the 4A girls team championship.
Though it is unlikely for Ames to challenge the Wolves for first, the Little Cyclones do have the potential to move up from last year’s 10th-place finish and challenge for a top-five spot.
Ames possesses a lot of depth. The Little Cyclones go into the meet ranked among the top eight in nine events.
If Ames can hold the line or improve in those events and maybe get one or two surprises, a top-five finish is not out of the cards.
How will the standout freshman qualifiers from the area fare?
The Ames area features several talented freshmen girls.
Gilbert’s Aubrey Johnson is at the head of the pack. She had the second-best qualifying jump in the 3A girls long jump at 18-4.25, and her season-best 19-4.62 effort ranks No. 1in 3A, according to Varsity Bound.
Johnson is also among the top 100 hurdlers in 3A after running the fifth-best qualifying time at 15.26.
Two other freshmen will be running relays for Gilbert in Maddie Olswing and Paisley Wilberts. Wilberts also qualified in the 400 hurdles.
Ames had three freshmen — Alaina Johnson, Katelyn Augustin and Naya Nakama — qualify in the distance medley alone. Throw in Peruth Negrete and Ames totals four freshmen who were part of qualifying events.
Ballard is loaded with freshmen competitors. Avilee Miller, Brooklyn Shoen, Honor Jorgensen, Kaitlyn Dunn and Alea Kinzenbaw all qualified for state in at least one event for the Bombers.
All four runners on the school-record setting 4×400 team for Ballard are freshmen.
Roland-Story features freshman Nora Long on its 4×800 team.
Will the Roland-Story shuttle hurdle team win gold?
Roland-Story returns all four members of its girls shuttle hurdle relay team that placed second at state in 2A last season.
The Norse quartet of Taylor Rechkemmer, Maddi Lucas, Brookelyn Jondle and Selah Helgeson ran a 1:05.51 at last year’s state meet. They came in second to Treynor’s 1:05.15 in the 2A race.
Rechkemmer, Lucas, Jondle and Helgeson ran the best qualifying time in 2A on May 14 with a 1:05.48 showing. That time is over one full second faster than the runner-up 1:06.86 by Iowa City Regina among 2A qualifiers, putting Roland-Story in good position to go for the gold.
Who will surprise?
The Iowa high school girls and boys state track and field championship meets are always full of surprises and thrilling performances.
The 2026 meet will be no different.
Female athletes and relay teams from the Ames area produced five state champions in 2025. Will there be a surprise winner in 2026?
Will there be any Cinderella stories featuring an athlete or relay team finishing well above expectations or being able to pull off a shocking upset?
Expect a wild and exciting ride on the Jim Duncan Track from May 21-23.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: 5 Ames-area girls track and field storylines to watch at state
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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