Vikings Cruise to First at Home Invite

You'll want to remember this moment. Help us record what's happening in Decorah. DECORAH — Last Thursday, the Decorah girls track and field team racked up another first-place finish, hosting an outdoor meet on their home turf. The team hosted Central Elkader, Charles City, Mason City, Osage, Riceville, St. Ansgar, South Winn and West Delaware. Decorah finished the meet with 184 points. The next closest team was West Delaware with 114. On the evening, a few girls tallied individual first-place finishes: Stella Pole (200 meters), Lauren Luzum (shot put) and Grace Tangen (discus). Several relays also tallied first-place finishes: sprint medley (Audrey Essa, Stella Pole, Cassandra Stammeyer, Eden Northup), 4x800 (Eva Hurley, Lauren Holthaus, Raelyn Newhouse, Olivia Volkmann) and distance medley (Caylee Malanaphy, Mahraz Murphy, Lauren Holthaus, Amelia Roe). And while those first-place finishes were impressive, it was the sheer depth and multiple place-winners per race that added to the total points, thus giving the Vikings an easy win. Notable performances were: senior Stella Pole (second in the 100 meters), Ava Holthaus (third in the 100 meters), Renae Wilson (third in the 200 meters), Claire Storhoff (second in the 400 meters), Amelia Roe (sixth in the 800 meters), Olivia Volkmann (third in the 1,500 meters), Eva Hurley (fourth in the 1,500 meters), Ruth Kueny (fifth in the 1,500 meters), Kelby Kerndt (fourth in the 100-meter hurdles), Addison Ivy (fifth in the 100-meter hurdles), Lauren Holthaus (third in the 400-meter hurdles), Natalie Stevens (fifth in the 3,000 meters), Ava Holthaus (second in the long jump), Jerikah Dodd (fourth in the long jump), Renae Wilson (second in the high jump), Brylee Hanson (sixth in the high jump), Grace Tangen (second in the shot put) and Annika Schmelzer (second in the discus). Coach Brad Johansen was pleased with the performance, saying, "It was great to perform at a high level on a fantastic night for competition." Hosting that many teams takes a lot of coordination, and Johansen wanted to thank all the people who help make the meet successful. "We would like to make special mention to all the people who help run a track meet. We truly appreciate all they do," he said. Later this week, some of the girls travel to Des Moines for the Drake Relays. Qualifiers for the meet include senior Lauren Luzum (shot put), senior Annika Schmelzer (discus), sophomore Grace Tangen (shot put and discus) and senior Renae Wilson (high jump and 100-meter hurdles). Decorah's qualifying relay includes the 4x100, made up of Audrey Essa, Cassandra Stammeyer, Ava Holthaus and Stella Pole. Your inbox, upgraded! Subscribe for free and enjoy handpicked stories, helpful advice, and local insights delivered weekly.