A couple bumps and bruises from a recent car wreck didn't slow down Calvary Lutheran's Kyle Hagemeyer.
"We were very fortunate," Calvary Lutheran track and field coach Kerri Morris said. "His car was basically totaled. He had some bruising from the seatbelt and the airbag deploying. It's been a very up and down week for a lot of these kids, a lot of emotions."
The Lions took the track Saturday in the Class 1 state track and field championships at Adkins Stadium with the thought of winning the school's first team trophy in the sport in the back of their minds.
After Hagemeyer finished runner-up in the 3,200-meter run and the 4x800-meter relay team claimed the state title, Calvary Lutheran gave itself a chance.
Add in a state-championship run for Hagemeyer in the 1,600-meter run, a sixth-place finish for Jaxson Jobe in that event and a third-place result for Grant Going, the Lions earned themselves a fourth-place trophy.
With another Calvary Lutheran track and field athlete, Clancy Dunn, also being involved in a car wreck late in the season, what hardware that awaited the Lions wasn't necessarily their priority.
"It just takes you a step back and be like, 'These guys are more important than getting these medals or trophies or anything," Going said.
Fortunately the injuries were minor, and Dunn was able to compete at districts and sectionals and Hagemeyer went on to help lead the Lions to 37 points at state.
Green City won five events on its way to 87 points and the state championship. Mound City was second with 48 points and Valle Catholic took third with 41 points.
"I thought there was an outside chance," Morris said of the possibility of taking a top-four spot. "We didn't even really talk about it. I didn't want to put the pressure on the boys. I think they put enough on themselves."
The expectations for the 4x800 team were fairly high entering the season after Hagemeyer, Cole Going, Grant Going and Jobe were the top four runners for the state-championship cross country team last fall.
Jobe, a freshman, got the Lions toward the front during the first leg of the relay. Cole Going made progress during the second leg, Hagemeyer then made the final pass for the lead and Grant Going left no doubt in the result.
"He always shows up in big moments when we need him," Hagemeyer said of Jobe. "We're competing for a state trophy here and he knows what's on the line. It's a lot of pressure on a freshman, but it doesn't seem to affect him at all."
Their time of 8:25.67 won the race by nearly 10 seconds.
"It's a lot easier with the 4x800 because I'm a very team aspect type of a person," Grant Going said, "so I never ever want to let my team down."
Grant Going was able to hold off a tight group of runners in the 800 for third place in 2:04.01, with three competitors crossing the line within about a second and a half behind him.
In the 1,600, Hagemeyer went back-and-forth with Tyler Blay of West Nodaway before separating by a few seconds in the final stretch to win with a time of 4:26.81.
The emotion came out of Hagemeyer during final couple meters with fist pumps and a yell. The sophomore embraced the state atmosphere.
"Oh man, that was the most fun race I've ever had," Hagemeyer said. "Just the intensity level with how many people there are, they're all just screaming, just so much fun."
Jobe ran the race in 4:50.23 to take sixth.
"Kyle always kind of rises to that occasion," Morris said. "I think Jaxson, for a freshman, that's an outstanding day for him to pull in that many points and get an individual medal and a team medal."
Blay and Hagemeyer battled it out in the 3,200, with Blay pulling away in the final few laps to win with a Class 1-record time of 9:34.49. Hagemeyer finished in 9:57.92 to take the runner-up spot.
"Ever since I've started running, it's always, 'You've got to work hard if you want to be at the top some day.' My dad and my mom always told me that, so I've just lived by that."
III
Calvary Lutheran sophomore Maddie Homfeldt had to wait patiently for her first state track meet, and it brought out a bit more energy.
"The intensity gives a lot more adrenaline, so I kind of like it," Homfeldt said.
It was a steady day for Homfeldt, who was able to manage the close packs in the 1,600 and 3,200 to finish fifth in both.
"The first two or three laps was super hard to get in and out," Homfeldt said. "We were all squished together and girls were tripping and rubbing and I was not used to that at all. Districts and sectionals both weren't near that close. I never got boxed in too bad in the mile or two-mile."
The 3,200 ended with Homfeldt recording a time of 12:30.60 and the 1,600 concluded with her crossing the line in 5:41.24.
"Just to kind of stay out with people I was ranked near, not really necessarily to win," Homfeldt said of her strategy. "I knew there were some girls that were going to go out pretty fast. But just staying around people of my time to kind of push me towards the end, like on the mile, the pass at the end, it's kind of the plan."
Calvary's 4x800 relay team of Homfeldt, Baileigh Morris, Sydney Morris and Madelyn Goodson finished 10th with a time of 11:16.93.
Sydney Morris came close to winning a pair of medals, finishing ninth in the discus with a throw of 94 feet, 11 inches and taking 10th in the shot put with a toss of 32-5.5.
In the javelin, Baileigh Morris placed 12th with a best throw of 95-6.