Happiness.
That’s the only word Ankeny’s quartet girls distance medley team could muster after beating out an uber-talented field to claim the Class 4A title at the Iowa high school state track meet on Friday, May 22.
And the Hawks didn’t just win – they dominated.
When anchor leg Makenna Madetzke crossed the finish line, she already knew that she and her teammates made history. The stop clock on the field-level screen illuminated the time, 3:55.44, a new Iowa all-time best in the event.
“We knew we could do it,” said junior Lena Bruening. “We train really hard every day, and we really just (went) for it. So, it’s just super exciting to do it together.”
The Hawks looked unbeatable from the start, with Bruening handling the first 200 meters with ease. She handed the baton off to Lilly Buckley – as the first team to complete the first exchange – and Buckley kept the Hawks in a competitive position through the end of the second leg.
In this race, though, Morgan Fisher made all the difference.
She started the 400-meter leg around the 48-second mark of the race. She erased Waukee Northwest’s lead in the first 100 meters, and Fisher ran convincingly ahead of the pack even before the runners in the outer lanes made the cut inside.
Completing her leg in less than a minute – a 1:45.35 split on the first 800 meters – Fisher handed the baton off to Madetzke, more than three seconds ahead of the closest competitor.
“They did such an amazing job,” Madetzke said about how her teammates set her up for success. “I knew I had to do my part and, as long as they did their part, we were going to do amazing.”
She started with a significant lead, but that didn’t mean Madetzke was safe.
Chasing her down were Waukee Northwest’s Emee Dani – who anchored the Wolves to a state title in the 4×800-meter relay on Friday – and Ankeny Centennial’s Rebecca Flick – who boasts the fastest qualifying time for the 800-meter run, scheduled for Saturday morning.
But no competitor came close to cutting away at Ankeny’s lead.
And so, the Hawks’ anchor raced against the clock.
She didn’t glance back at the pack; she didn’t look up at the large scoreboard as she entered the final turn. Madetzke kept going, focused on the race until she crossed the finish line, and her straight face didn’t break until her teammates jumped onto the track to celebrate.
Their state title-winning time of 3:55.44 took down Davenport Assumption’s statewide record of 3:55.82, set in 2017. The Hawks shaved nearly 15 seconds off their qualifying time – 4:11.59 – but that didn’t surprise the Ankeny foursome.
Not with last year’s runner-up finish still fresh in their minds.
“I just feel like our legs were really primed,” Madetzke said. “Three of us ran it last year, and so that’s always in the back of our head, losing that last year. We know you just have to keep going, can’t look back (and) build as much of a gap as possible.”
From atop the podium, Ankeny’s quartet took a moment to take it all in: the crowds, the pink winners’ flags in their hands, the all-time best record.
Because even from the champion’s pedestal, the accomplishment didn’t feel real.
“It’s just such a joy to run with these girls,” Bruening said. “It’s just a surreal moment to be able to do something like this, (and) it’s really amazing that we could all come together as a team and use our own individual strengths to come together.”
Highlights from Thursday and Friday at state track meet
Jana Maharry claims 400m hurdle crown for Waukee
Waukee junior Jana Maharry set a new state-meet record for Class 4A in the event, finishing the race in1:00.11. She ran away from the field, with Iowa City High sophomore Maeve Bowen-Burt finishing a full second and a half behind in 1:01.61.
Ames senior Angelica Attinger rounded out the podium with a time of 1:01.89.
Waukee Northwest continues to do Waukee Northwest things
The Wolves’ foursome of Quinn Jorgensen, Avery Vogt, Logan Vogt and Keziah Caldwell set a new all-time record in Iowa for the girls 4×200, crossing the line in 1:37.77. That was good enough to break their own record they set at last year’s state meet.
Southeast Polk’s team of Mylie Leo, Berkley Weiland, Teresa Tarplah and Alayna Goldsberry was the best of the rest, crossing the line in 1:39.65, nearly two full seconds behind Northwest. Waukee’s quartet of Natalie Sitzmann, Chloe Williams, Emerson Chance and Jana Maharry crossed the line in 1:40.32 to take the bronze.
Quentin Nauman continues his dominance
Western Dubuque’s Quentin Nauman continued his stellar high school career with another state championship on Thursday afternoon. He crossed the line in 8:54.00 and ran the final lap in 55.86. truly an incredible athlete that Iowa high school sports fans get the chance to watch.
It was a solid pack of three entering the final lap, but then Nauman opened up and just ran away from everybody.
Pella senior Canaan Dunham finished in second, crossing the line in 8:59.18. An impressive time under nine minutes that would have won the title in most other fields across the nation. Gilbert junior Logan Bleich rounded out the podium with a time of 9:10.98.
Laura Streck wins 2A girls 3,000
Van Meter’s Laura Streck claimed a state championship in the Class 2A girls 3,000-meter run at the 2026 Iowa high school girls and boys state track and field championships in Des Moines.
Streck won the race in an all-time PR time of nine minutes, 48.31 seconds. Streck’s time was 32.13 seconds faster than her fifth-place effort in the 2025 2A girls race.
Albia’s McKenna Montgomery placed second in 10:08.09
Norwalk’s Kaiden Kunze wins 4A boys 400m, long jump
The Norwalk senior, who won the Drake Relays title in this event just last month, took home another title on Thursday afternoon. Kunze crossed the finish line in 47.80. It was a tight race, with Bettendorf’s Gage Tucker finishing just a tenth-of-a-second back in 47.90. Cedar Falls’ Marcus Tomlyanovich rounded out the podium with a time of 48.23.
In the long jump on Friday morning, Kunze took home his second state title of 2026. His leap of 23-08.25 came on his second-to-last jump to claim the crown. Cedar Falls senior Austin Hansen finished in second place, a full foot behind Kunze, with a best jump of 22-08.25. Johnston senior Alijah Armstrong rounded out the podium with a leap of 22-07.50.
Southeast Polk’s Reece Whinery wins 4A boys discus title
The Rams’ senior had the biggest throw of the day Thursday, coming in at 183-03, which came on his second-to-last hurl. Urbandale junior Daxon Kiesau finished in second with a throw of 178-07. Rounding out the podium was Cedar Rapids Kennedy senior Jackson Rhinehart, who won the Drake Relays title in the event earlier this season. His best throw came in at 175-09.
Waukee Northwest girls relays continue dominance
The Wolves 4×800 relay team of Piper Vander Ley, Laney Sundet, Ella Jones and Emee Dani claimed the state crown Thursday by crossing the finish line in 8:58.01, which is the new fastest time in Iowa history.
Johnston’s team of Alyx Woodley, Jayna Lamping, Ele Wharton and Olivia Fehn finished in second place with a time of 9:07.30. Cedar Falls’ team of Katherine Tomlyanovich, Emerlyn McNally, Shai Meyer and Charlee Gall rounded out the podium with a time of 9:11.23.
Central Iowa stars sweep boys 4A high jump
It was a full Central Iowa podium in the boys 4A high jump on Thursday morning. Waukee sophomore Ajak Malual took home the state crown with a jump of 6-07, adding another title to his trophy case following his Drake Relays victory last month.
Indianola junior Easton McGraw finished second with a jump of 6-05. Valley senior Donault Moore also jumped 6-05, but took home third on a tiebreaker, since McGraw had fewer failed attempts overall.
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Ankeny girls win distance medley state title, break all-time record
Reporting by Alyssa Hertel, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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