The only guarantees in life are death, taxes and Reese Brownlee shattering records. And that is exactly what happened last week at the State Track Meet in Des Moines.
It was one to remember for not only Reese Brownlee, but for all Clear Lakers in attendance as the junior Lion brought home three medals to add to her collection, along with two state records that she set back-to-back on the second day of competition.
Rewinding back to Thursday, the Lions fielded six events that included a Brownlee state title in the 400 meter which set a new school record and second fastest time in the state at :55.56.
Senior Dylan Litzel competed in the high jump for the Lions and was seen sporting a knee sleeve after a hyper extension at the qualifying meet a week prior.
Litzel finished out the meet, and his career, with a 17th place finish after clearing 6-1.
Addie Doughan, a Clear Lake junior, had an 18th place finish in the grueling 3000 meter run in a time of 11:15.61.
The Lion 4×800 team of Anna Feuerbach, Emily McLaughlin, Rebekah Steinbron and Addie Doughan finished eighth overall to earn medals for the four athletes with a time of 9:52.66.
“It means a lot to get to do this with these three girls especially,” said Feuerbach. “We’ve been running with each other for three years and it feels like a lifetime and it’s been one of our goals to do this up here and I’m glad we got to do this one last time.”
Emily McLaughlin credited the coaches for helping them get to where they were.
“I was thinking about something that our coach Ethan Miller said. A lot of these girls know how to run really well but what we have is the passion to go after that,” said McLaughlin.
“We really really wanted it and we got it,” said Steinbron. “It’s really awesome being here.”
Doughan recognized seniors Feuerbach and McLaughlin and how much fun it was to run with them one more time.
“It’s Emily and Anna’s last race with us and they’ve been with us all high school and we wanted to end it on a good note,” said Doughan. “There’s no better note than ending it getting medals together.”
The 400 meter dash saw Brownlee with her state title performance and freshman Jaxson McIntire run a 54.00 for 22nd overall.
The Class 3A shuttle hurdle relay preliminary saw a bit of drama to close out Friday as the Lions placed 10th, missing out on the finals by two spots with a time of 1:01.83.
It was about 10 minutes later, though, that the Lion boys team of Derek Erpelding, Gage Larson, Keeton Jeppeson and Cooper Cooke found out that they had in-fact qualified for the finals after there were seven disqualifications, including three teams ahead of them to put them in seventh place.
Friday sees
records set
Friday was the day that Clear Lake was able to shine with eight events on the docket for the Lions.
Starting out with freshman Taylor Schwenn and her first ever appearance on the Blue Oval, she prepped to throw the shot put.
Schwenn didn’t quite make her personal best but had throws of 35-00.25 (her best of the day), 33-09 and 34-06.25.
Nerves were present for the first time state qualifier, but she is ready to be back next year with experience under her belt.
“It was nerve-wracking,” said Schwenn. “There is a lot of people here. It’s still fun to come down here and enjoy it. I have potential in the future and have three years ahead of me.”
The girls distance medley team of Lauren Englin, Emily McGrath, Rebekah Steinbron and Anna Feuerbach took to the track and ran a time of 4:20.31 which was good for 15th place.
The Lion boys followed and placed 23rd overall with a time of 3:48.32 and was comprised of Tyler LeFevre, Aiden Hartl, Jack Englin and Isaac Brownlee.
Cooper Cooke, a junior, placed 16th in the 110 meter hurdles, missing 15th place by .001 with a time of 15.696.
The 4×200 team of Blake Enke, Titan Schmitt, Sam Dodge and Alex Kerr had a season best and school record time of 1:28.85 which placed them fourth overall to bring in five points for the Lion team and put medals around their necks.
That same team would later close out the day in the 4×100 with a fifth place finish earning another season best and school record time of 42.5 and put them in the finals on Saturday.
“It’s awesome. The biggest thing with our group of guys here is we aren’t scared,” said Enke. “We all go out and attack it. We have the same hand-off every week, every day. We have the coaches helping us. It’s just awesome.”
Titan Schmitt, despite the constant hand-offs every week, practiced on track before the gun sounded.
“The repetition gets my mind going,” said Schmitt. “It helps me make sure it goes well and how we are going to get this done.”
Sam Dodge mentioned that the team isn’t running for themselves.
“It’s really special because we aren’t just running for ourselves out here,” said Dodge. “We are trying to represent our community Clear Lake. We’re running for our family, our parents, all of our friends back home. It’s a blessing.”
Alex Kerr reflected on what it means to run at Drake University.
“Pretty much my whole career it’s been with these three except freshman year. Everything we do it’s not just for us,” said Kerr. “It’s for the rest of the team, our school and our community and it feels great to represent the city of Clear Lake.”
The girls long jump took place Friday afternoon and the Lions had freshman Ella Landau and junior Reese Brownlee competing.
Landau, competing in the first flight, finished 11th overall with a huge personal best of 16-05.25. Consistently in the 15’s, the freshman continued to jump further throughout her attempts with a 15-07.75, 16-00.25 and 16-05.25.
Landau was proud of her performance and can’t wait to be back next year.
“It’s really nerve-wracking at first but once I get my run-throughs, warming-up I feel I am a little more relaxed,” said Landau. “I am super proud of myself. When I first started I wasn’t very confident in myself and I didn’t feel like I wanted to do it and I was close to not. Seeing how far I’ve come, it’s such an improvement and I am so proud of myself.”
Brownlee
shatters records
Meanwhile, Reese Brownlee was waiting to compete in flight two of the long jump, she was also looking at competing in the 400 meter hurdles.
Brownlee and her coaches thought they would get to jump before the hurdles took place, however, that wasn’t the case.
Brownlee, ever stoic, took to the track and prepared, setting her blocks just right, counting her steps, practicing her launch and even giving a smile to her mom, Amy, who was seated right across from her starting position in lane four.
Just before the ‘get set’ order, Brownlee’s mom gave her a “proud mom thumbs up” as described by Reese, to which Reese nodded and stated “I got this” with confidence that you knew something big would happen.
“She was looking at me and gave me a little thumbs up like proud mama moment,” said Brownlee. “I was like mom I got this don’t worry about it.”
The starting pistol sounded and Brownlee exploded out of her blocks. The gap increased with every stride and leap Brownlee took and by the time she rounded the final corner and had 100 meters left to run, Brownlee was already nearly 100 meters ahead of the competition.
State Track public announcer, Mike Jay, called out Brownlee’s name with excitement as the crowd kept an eye on the star runner and the clock.
Brownlee crossed the finish line nearly six seconds ahead of the second place finisher as it was announced it was a new state meet record and eighth fastest time in the United States. A sub 60 second time of 59.83 put Brownlee at the top of Iowa.
After finding her mom and embracing her, Brownlee then congratulated her competitors and hurried off to the long jump where the second flight was set to begin.
“At the end, I gave her a hug and she said ‘I’m so proud of you kid,’” said Brownlee. “She would’ve been proud of me if I would’ve tripped over seven hurdles and finished last and ran a minute and 30 seconds, that’s just the kind of person she is and that’s why I’m here today.”
A couple of run throughs to get her steps set, Brownlee jumped 18-01, which was still top of the leaderboard but nowhere near her best leap.
Her second jump looked good but a raised red flag noted a scratch. Her third leap of 18-03.5 put her in the finals and she was still a foot ahead of the competition, but her dad and coach, Tony Brownlee, thought the hurdles had taken the juice out of the junior.
With three more jumps to go in the finals, Brownlee wasn’t quite done.
Her fourth jump of the day was her best. She took off toward the pit and after the leap and landing in the sand that exploded with the force of her landing the ZZ section of the stands erupted in cheers. You knew where the Clear Lake fans were seated.
The official measured and announced the distance of 19-01.5. A new state record. When Brownlee was back up for jump two it looked like much of the same, the explosion, the leap, but this time she found almost two more inches and broke her own record set minutes before with a leap of 19-03.25.
The third attempt in the finals, and sixth of the day, came and it was all but set in stone that Brownlee had already won her third medal of the weekend, but Brownlee wasn’t ready to just lay down.
Ever the competitor, Brownlee took off with a force and determination, she leapt and landed, the sand once again exploding in every direction, the crowd cheered and Brownlee set the state meet record again for the third time in as many jumps, this time with a leap of 19-03.5 which broke into the top 100 in the nation at 83rd overall.
“That was a tough turnaround. I didn’t think I’d have to run the hurdles first, but we had to look at where my mental state had to be and trusting in God. Doing it alone isn’t easy, but with Him it’s a lot easier,” said Brownlee. “That sub minute time has been in my head for awhile and I attacked every hurdle and I am really proud of myself, my coaching and my support. I can’t give enough thanks for it.”
Brownlee was a second faster than she was a month ago in the 400 meter hurdles.
“Another second PR, this race isn’t easy. Being in the 59’s is something to be really proud of. It’s the support, the training that I have from my parents, coaches and my friends. I have a hard task but it’s made a lot easier from everyone I have in my life,” said Brownlee.
Brownlee stated she will be eying to be even faster next season.
“I’d love to get in the 58’s I think that’s the next goal, let’s just go second by second,” said Brownlee. “For long jump I want to get close to that 20 foot mark on a fresh day.”
Saturday Events
On Saturday, to close out the meet, the Lion sprint medley team of Maddie Leisure, Lydia Brattrud, Lauren Englin and Reese Brownlee took to the track, finishing seventh with a time of 1:50.46.
The Lion boys also competed in the sprint medley and finished in a time of 1:34.59 to place 13th. Enke, Schmitt, Dodge and Kerr ran for Clear Lake.
Feuerbach
ends career
Anna Feuerbach finished out her Clear Lake high school running career in the 800 meter run. The outgoing senior had great pace from the start and entered the race in 21st with a time of 2:26.84.
Feuerbach weaved her way through the pack and on the final lap the Lion senior finished nearly three seconds faster than her qualifying time. Finishing in 2:23.92, Feuerbach closed out her Lion career with a personal record and 15th place finish.
“It feels a little bittersweet, getting to run this last race and get this big PR,” said Feuerbach. “It feels a little unreal that this is my last time running. State Track, it holds a really special place in my heart. My dad, since I was young, coached track and field here for the boys and I don’t remember ever not going to a state meet. It feels surreal getting to run here myself. It’s something I’ve always dreamed of since I was a little girl.”
The Lion shuttle hurdle team of Erpelding, Larson, Jeppeson and Cooke took advantage of their second opportunity and showed they belonged in the finals. The Lions ran a 1:02.17 which finished seventh overall.
In the heat of the day just after 2 p.m. the Lions fielded Addie Doughan in the 1500 meter run.
Doughan entered the event with a time of 5:01.16 and a personal record of 4:48.58. After the first 700 meters, Doughan looked to be moving well with a split of 2:12.559. On her last lap, Doughan sat in seventh with 300 meters to go. In the next 200 meters, Doughan had passed two runners and sat firmly in fifth where she would finish with a time of 4:51.00, a season best.
The meet finished for Clear Lake with the 4×100 team of Enke, Schmitt, Dodge and Kerr. The quartet finished seventh overall with a time of :43.16.
