DES MOINES — Sophia Hatcher and Brandon Johnson saved their best for last.
The two Ames High track and field athletes went out in style during the final field event competition of their careers during the 2026 Iowa high school state track and field championships on May 22.
Hatcher broke her own school record in the girls high jump to place second in Class 4A, and Johnson won a bronze medal in a shot put event that was not even his primary throwing event during the season.
Hatcher was set to finish 13th and not make the finals before her final attempt in the 4A long jump. She had only jumped 16 feet, 7.75 inches and 15-3.25 during her first two attempts, well short of her season-best distance of 18-5.75 and school record jump of 18-9.5 set a year ago.
So, in what could have been the final jump of her career, she took a carefree approach and just went for it. Hatcher went in loose, got a fast sprint toward the pit and did not worry about hitting the board.
“This could be my last ever jump in high school, so all the emotions were getting to me,” Hatcher said. “I told myself ‘Take a breath, you’re fine. If this is your last jump, make it your best jump.'”
She did.
Hatcher went all out, leaped off the board and hit the sand in a good spot. She felt like she may have scratched, but when she saw the white flag go up signaling a clean jump, she let out a big sigh of relief.
Then she saw her distance — 18-11.25.
“I was so incredibly happy,” Hatcher said. “I honestly didn’t think it was real.”
Hatcher’s jump put a scare into champion Abby Mecklenberg of Linn-Mar.
Mecklenberg, an Iowa State commit, jumped 19 feet even on her first attempt. She hit 18-1 on her second attempt and then decided to waive her final attempt in Flight 2 as well as all of her jumps in the finals.
After dominating all season, she was confident she secured the title and did not need to risk anything with further attempts.
But Hatcher almost forced her to jump again.
“She came up to me and said ‘Hey, you got me scared a little bit,'” Hatcher said. “That was so amazing. She’s a great jumper and she’s going to do really good next year (at Iowa State).”
Hatcher jumped 17-6.25 and 17-10.5 in her first two jumps of the finals and scratched on her final jump.
But there was only a big smile on her face after the final jump. She went into the arms of teammate Edyn Cowles, who placed 13th with a peak jump of 16-9.25, and the two seniors emotionally embraced each other to signal a satisfactory ending to their careers.
Brandon Johnson keeps exceeding expectations
Johnson continued to show why he should never be counted out in anything he does.
He was a dominant defensive end/outside linebacker for an Ames football program that is going through a transition period and had to deal with several struggles and adversities. That earned him a football scholarship offer at UNI.
During the 2025-2026 basketball season, Johnson had to step up in the post when starting center Marach Dau suffered a season-ending injury.
He was Ames’ most consistent player down the stretch and nearly led the Little Cyclones back to the state tournament.
During the 2026 track and field season, he started as an excellent discus thrower, placing fourth at the Drake Relays.
But he was unable to qualify for state in the event. He did, however, make it in the shot put.
“Discus didn’t go as planned,” Johnson said. “I did not want to throw shot. I did not care for it at all — I wanted to throw discus. I wasn’t able to do it. I just put my trust in the Lord. He showed up.”
Johnson scratched on his first toss, hit 54-5 on his second attempt to earn a spot in the finals, and then scratched again.
In the finals, he hit 50-3.25 and 52-3.25 in his first two attempts. On his third try, he tossed the shot a PR distance of 57-8.25.
That final toss was good enough to earn him a bronze medal. Lewis Central’s Hunter Infanger won with a toss of 59-7 and Iowa City West’s James Barnett took second with a distance of 59-3.
“I’m so blessed,” Johnson said. “This entire year has been the most amazing year of my life. From the coaches to the facilities to me even coming to this school (last year) and being new to this school — man, I’m very grateful.”
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: Sophia Hatcher, Brandon Johnson impress for Ames at Iowa state track
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
