DES MOINES — Gilbert held the state record in the Class 3A boys 4×800-meter relay for about 10 minutes at the 2026 Iowa high school state track and field meet on Thursday, May 21, in Des Moines.
The Tigers broke the record time of seven minutes, 49.07 seconds set by Spirit Lake Park in 2011 when the team of Emrick Ryan, Preston Steland, Carson Squiers and Logan Bleich ran a dominant time of 7:47.21 seconds. They won their heat by nearly 21 seconds.
But in the second heat, Pella did just enough to steal the record away from Gilbert. A great anchor leg by Canann Dunham gave the Dutch the event title and a new record with a time of 7:45.53.
“There’s nothing we could do, obviously being in the first heat,” said Gilbert runner Carson Squiers. “Someone in the second heat goes and runs away with it — you can’t do much else. We ran the best race we’re capable of running and we came up in second place.”
Emrick Ryan and Preston Stensland got Gilbert out in front of the first section. Squiers and Logan Bleich then stretched the lead and got the Tigers a new record, even if it did not last for long.
“We were just trying to get 7:50,” Ryan said. “We came out and got 7:47. We’re just happy that we ran so well.”
Bleich ran a great race in the 3A 3,200 earlier in the day.
He led the 3,200 field for most of the race. He was just ahead of Western Dubuque star Quentin Nauman and Dunham heading into the final lap.
But just before the final 400 meters, Nauman did his usual super kick and Dunham also kicked it into another gear.
Nauman, an Oregon commit, won his third-straight state title in 8:54.00 and Dunham also broke nine minutes, finishing in 8:59.18. Bleich settled for bronze after running a time of 9:10.98.
“I knew right away I had to keep it honest,” Bleich said. “We all know it’s a stick-and-kick race every once in a while. I knew I had to go out there and make it an honest race. I know what I can do and I put out a pretty good race. We came around that back 400 and they put it all out there, and I was just not quite there. It’s OK— I’ve got a lot to learn, and it’s been a great year in the 3,200.”
Gilbert actually had two runners place in the top four in the 3,200. Jacob Tallman placed fourth in his first state meet, running a time of 9:16.54.
Emma Stanley shines in the 4A 3,000
Emma Stanley was in the zone at the 2026 Iowa high state track and field meet.
Stanley ran the race of her life in the 4A 3,000-meters, and she followed that up by anchoring Ames to a fifth-place finish in the 4×800 at Drake Stadium.
In the 3,000, Stanley was determined to stay focused. She worked with a sports psychologist to get in the right mental state going into the meet.
She did not want to concentrate on her splits. Instead, just wanted to relax and run.
But as she was nearing the end of her first lap, Stanley could not help but look up at the scoreboard.
“I peeked up 400 (meters) into it and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s pretty fast,'” Stanley said. “You need to just put that out of your mind, keep relaxed and keep running.”
Keep running, Stanley did.
She stayed within striking distance of frontrunners Charlee Gall of Cedar Falls and Emmy Stubbendeck of Waukee Northwest throughout the race. Stanley did not expect to be right behind the leaders, but she hung with them the entire way.
By the time she completed her eighth lap around the track, Stanley had easily broken 10 minutes, running a 9:48.39.
Stanley outpaced her Drake Relays performance in the event by over 30 seconds.
That career-best effort beat Pleasantville’s Maddie Millage by over four seconds for the bronze medal. Stanley finished just 10.54 seconds behind Gall’s winning time of 9:37.85.
“Obviously, it went pretty well,” Stanley said. “I felt really good.”
Stubbendeck ran a 9:43.91 to take second and Millage finished in 9:52.81.
Leah Kincaid, Brenna Van Cleave and Naya Nakama joined Stanley in running a season-best time of 9:18.34 in the 4×800 to give Ames another top-five finish. Stanley completed her anchor leg in 59.83.
Waukee Northwest won in a state-record time of 8:58.01.
Colo-NESCO junior Elizabeth Erickson placed sixth in the 1A 3,000, breaking her own school record time by eight seconds when she crossed the finish line in 10:15.20.
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: Gilbert boys 4×800, Ames’ Emma Stanley shine at Iowa state track meet
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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