Morningside wins two events at Sioux City Relays

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Taking advantage of the excellent weather conditions and home facilities, the Mustangs claimed two titles at the Sioux City Relays Friday and Saturday at Elwood Olsen Stadium in Sioux City. 

Michelle Sanchez (2:17.66) won the 800-meters and Courtney Sporrer (4:56.49) won the 1,500-meters to claim Morningside's two titles for the weekend. Morningside took the top five spots in the 1,500, as Taylor Sporrer (4:59.13), Sanchez (5:01.93), Monica Olson (5:02.17), and Emily Chicoine (5:11.5) crossed the finish line behind Courtney Sporrer. 

Chicoine (2:20.06) placed third in the 800 and Courtney Sporrer (2:20.70) took fourth, crossing the finish line less than a second apart. Taylor Sporrer (2:21.21) and Jolee Mesz (2:21.42) weren't far behind in sixth and seventh place. 

In the sprints, Tilda Wahlen (13.01) and Meredith Draper (13.02) made the finals in the 100. Wahlen ran a 12.81 and Draper a 12.92 for fifth and seventh in the finals. Wahlen also set a personal best in the 200, running 26.37 for fourth. Draper took eighth with a best of 27.14. Three more Mustangs placed in the top 15, as Lauren Wehrbein (27.4) took 11th, Laura Greene (27.66) 14th, and Taylor Greene (27.7) 15th.

Chicoine also ran in the 400 this weekend, grabbing her third top 10 with a seventh place finish in the 400 in a time of 1:01.46. Sarah Perez placed ninth (1:04.44), followed by teammate Ikilas Hasan in tenth (1:05.99). Nicole Zuehl placed 15th in a time of 1:10.48.

In the long distance events, Jillian Fierro ran 13.22.86 in the steeplechase, placing second. Gabby Ryan finished seventh in the 5,000 at 22:56.28 and both London Rogge (42:53.13) and Paige Padavich (44:01.18) competed in the 10,000, placing 11th and 14th respectively.

In relay events, the team of Courtney Sporrer, Sanchez, Chicoine, and Mesz placed third in the 1,600-meter relay in a time of 4:10.87. Taylor Sporrer, Olson, Hasan, and Fierro placed fourth in the event at 4:30.84. The 400-meter relay team of Draper, Wahlen, Wehrbein, and Mesz took fourth at 49.99. 

In field events, Morningside shined brightest in the javelin. Jena Jenness placed third (34.16 meters) to lead four Mustangs in the top 10. Jacee Tindall placed fifth with a toss of 33.05 meters, followed by Chicoine in sixth at 31.33 and Javonte Madsen in ninth at 26.93. Madsen also earned a top-15 finish in the hammer throw, placing 13th with a throw of 39.43 meters. Jacee Tindall placed seventh in the shot put with a mark of 10.82 meters. 

The Mustangs compete at the Red Raider Open Friday and Saturday in Orange City.