STATE TRACK: Hawks’ Coy goes below 50 seconds, earns bronze in 2A 400-meter dash
By Troy Banning, DFJ Sports Editor
POSTED: May 16, 2008
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The South Hamilton senior sprinter ran the time he wanted and picked up the medal he expected in the Class 2A 400-meter dash on the blue oval Jim Duncan Track. Coy broke the 50-second barrier for the first time, lowering his school record to 49.93 seconds to place third and take home the bronze medal.
"I'm more excited about breaking 50 (seconds) than I am placing third," a winded Coy said moments after the race. "But I figured that if I did that then I would probably finish in the top three.
"It was my goal to get in the top three, so it was a good day."
Coy had no chance of catching Aaron Stockstell of Mid-Prairie Wellman. Stockstell won his third straight 2A 400 state crown in a clocking of 47.67 seconds, the third fastest time ever in the event in the state of Iowa. Brian Sandvig of St. Edmond beat Coy for the second time in as many weeks, as he took the silver in 49.28.
"Stockstell is just fast and impressive," Coy said. "I was hoping I could get closer to Sandvig, but I can't be upset with my time."
South Hamilton's 4x800 relay also raced its way into the medals. The foursome of Devan Quam, Nathan Johnston, Ryan Fisher and Lee Knickerbocker turned in a season's best time of 8 minutes 19.24 seconds to finish eighth.
"I've very happy with how those guys ran," South Hamilton head coach Darrell Paulsen said. "I thought we could run in the teens and we did, so I couldn't ask for much more."
Quam, just a freshman, had the best split of 2:02.8 on the opening leg. Knickerbocker, who also ran on the Hawks' seventh-place 4x800 in 2007, turned in a 2:03.5 on the anchor.
Hawk girls also medal
Running virtually the same time as a year ago when it placed eighth, the South Hamilton girls' track team's 4x800 relay moved up one spot on the medal stand Thursday.
Laura Sigmund, Sierra Weltha, Caitlin Rexroat and Bethany Olson worked together to finish in 9:51.51, good enough for seventh in the 2A field. Sigmund, Weltha and Olson were on that 2007 relay that finished one spot lower in 9:51.19.
"We wanted to get under 10 minutes, so we're happy," Olson, a junior who had the top split of 2:25.2 on the anchor, said. "This is only the second time that we've run together this year, so to win a medal is awesome."
Weltha had a 2:27.19 split on her second leg and had the Hawks as high as fifth-place.
Sigmund finished 10th in the fourth and final state 3,000 of her career. Her time of 11:01.95 was a season's best by three seconds, but Klein says that did little to comfort his senior who had hoped to close out her 3,000 career with a medal.
"She's not personally happy," South Hamilton girls’ head coach Jim Klein said. "It was one of those days where you try hard and it just doesn't come out the way you want it to. She feels bad because she can't run faster, but she didn't have to run faster at all during the year."
