5/18/26
It’s STATE WEEK! The Maroons will head to Drake Stadium one more time this year to compete at the 2026 IGHSAU/IHSAA Co-Ed State Track and Field Meet. State will take place over three days starting on Thursday May 21 and ending on Saturday May 23. This year we will be competing in the morning session on Thursday and Friday, which runs from 9 am to around 2:30 pm.
The Maroons qualified in 12 events this season out of 19 total events. All 7 relays qualified for state for the second year in a row – the last time all 7 relays qualified in back-to-back years was 2017-2018 (2018 was also the last time we had qualified all relays until we did last year in 2025). The Maroons also qualified in 5 individual events – Ellie Mead in the 100, Lily Decker in the 3000, Franny Brooks in the 100 hurdles, Ava Groeteke and Ellie Muller in high jump, and Nellie Johnson and Annabell Niggemeyer in discus. This group is represented well by the senior class, with 5 of the 7 being seniors (Decker, Brooks, Groeteke, Muller, and Johnson).
Event Notes
100 Meters: Ellie Mead makes it back to state for the second year in a row. This is also the 5th season in a row with at least one Maroon in the 100.
3000 Meters: Lily Decker qualifies for her first state meet after joining the team her junior year. She is the first Maroon to qualify for the 3000 since Liv Hall in 2022-2024.
100 Hurdles: Franny Brooks looks to cap off her high school career with a strong showing in the hurdles. She finished 5th as a sophomore and 6th as a junior – what does senior year have in store?
High Jump: Ava and Ellie continue the 5-year streak of having two high jumpers qualify for state, and Ellie makes it back for the first time since freshman year.
Discus: Nellie and Annabell qualify together for the second year in a row. Last year Annabell finished 15th and Nellie finished 23rd. They look to build on the success had in recent years – at least one qualifier every year since 2018, 10 individual qualifiers in that span, and scoring points in three of those 7 seasons.
4×100: The team of Franny Brooks, Ellie Mead, Maddie Nagel, and Lauren McCoy come into state with the 6th fastest time in school history and the 10th fastest time in 4A this season. Look for this group to fight for a spot in finals and be in the mix for points come Saturday.
4×200: The team of Lydia Conradt, Mead, Nagel, and McCoy are coming off of a season’s best at state qualifying. They have shown fight all season and are looking to crack the all-time top ten list at State.
4×400: The team of Frankie Darnell, Caroline Crane, Lizzy Jill Martin, and Elise Huegerich are looking to improve upon our season’s best time and get some blue oval experience under their belt with senior leader Elise on the anchor leg.
4×800: This group of Payton Wolfe, Elise Huegerich, Frankie Darnell, and Lizzy Tiffany are currently 10th in 4A but did run the 3rd fastest qualifying time on Thursday. Look for them to compete in the fast heat and try to get their way into the points on Thursday. This event holds our longest qualifying streak, having qualified every season since 1998.
Sprint Medley: Brooks, Mead, Nagel, and McCoy have had a strong season and are coming off a qualifying performance that moved them up to 5th in school history. It will take some grit to get into the points from the middle heat, but look for this veteran crew to try and fight their way there on Saturday morning.
Distance Medley: The younger squad of Caroline Crane, Adalyn Jones, Frankie Darnell, and Lizzy Tiffany are looking to gaining valuable blue-oval experience and fighting for points. They are currently the 8th in class 4A and will benefit from having much fresher legs at state than they did at qualifying.
Shuttle Hurdle: This relay has seen a revolving door of members all season and saw a huge time drop with Everlee Anthony, Ayoung Ajoung, Adalyn Jones, and Franny Brooks at state qualifying. They now sit at 11th in class 4A and have an outside shot at making it to finals to score some points – looking to extend our scoring streak in shuttle to 5 years in a row.
Thursday
9:00 am – Discus | Nellie Johnson & Annabell Niggemeyer
9:20 am – Shuttle Hurdle Prelims | Everlee Anthony, Ayoung Ajoung, Adalyn Jones, & Franny Brooks
9:55 am – 3000 Meters | Lily Decker
11:30 am – High Jump | Ava Groeteke & Ellie Muller
11:45 am – 4×800 | Payton Wolfe, Elise Huegerich, Frankie Darnell, & Lizzy Tiffany
12:58 pm – 100 Meter Prelims | Ellie Mead
Friday
9:20 am – Distance Medley | Caroline Crane, Adalyn Jones, Frankie Darnell, & Lizzy Tiffany
10:30 am – 100 Hurdle Prelims | Franny Brooks
11:15 am – 4×200 | Lydia Conradt, Ellie Mead, Maddie Nagel, & Lauren McCoy
12:48 am – 4×100 Prelims | Franny Brooks, Ellie Mead, Maddie Nagel, & Lauren McCoy
1:35 pm – 4×400 Prelims | Frankie Darnell, Caroline Crane, Jill Martin, & Elise Huegerich
Saturday
940 am – Sprint Medley | Franny Brooks, Ellie Mead, Maddie Nagel, & Lauren McCoy
12:00 pm – Shuttle Hurdle Final | TBD
12:55 pm – 100 Meter Final | TBD
1:25 pm – 100 Hurdle Final | TBD
3:55 pm – 4×100 Final | TBD
4:30 pm – 4×400 Final | TBD
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