Sticking the landing: D-NH's Kiewiet leaps to state long jump title

DES MOINES – Saving the best for last is becoming a habit for Dike-New Hartford's Parker Kiewiet.
  
The Wolverines' junior long jumper won his Drake Relays title earlier this spring on his final attempt, and he repeated the feat for a Class 2A state title, jumping 22 feet, 10.75 inches for the win in Des Moines on Thursday.
  
As the finalists took their final attempts, Greene County's Colby Kafer momentarily snatched the lead from Kiewiet with a 22-6.5 jump.
  
"He got way up," Kiewiet said. "I knew I had to come up again like Drake. … I just had the momentum and confidence that I could do it."
  
Kiewiet had been doing his own preparing to get up high, and he found that height just in time to grab the state title.
  
"As a freshman and sophomore, I was not mentally that positive," Kiewiet said. "I had confidence this year that working with my coach, we'd know what to do to get my foot on the board."
  
Dike-New Hartford is 10 points closer to a goal of a state team trophy thanks to Kiewiet, too, which was another important factor in making sure he picked up the win.
  
"I knew how important getting a state title would be for my team," Kiewiet said. "Hopefully starting off on a good note is great momentum for the whole team."
 
JENSEN MEDALS IN 400: D-NH sophomore Alexis Jensen finished a swift final heat in the 2A girls 400 in 1:00.36, good for eighth place and her first career state medal.
  
Aplington-Parkersburg's Sophia Jungling won the event in 56.96.
  
Wolverine teammate Taylor Kvale ran 1:02.74 in the event for 19th place. Jensen will have further opportunities to add to her medal count later this week as part of the 4x400 and sprint medley relays.
 
D-NH 4X800 ENDS SOLID EFFORT AT STATE: The D-NH boys 4x800 relay team placed 12th in 2A in 8:24.43 with the team of Conlee Lyons, Nathan Moore, Sawyer Loger and Derek Kinney. South Hamilton won the race in 8:01.23.
  
Loger is the only senior in the quartet, ending a senior year after appearances at state events in cross country and track.
  
"It's definitely something I'll miss with this atmosphere," Loger said.
  
Lyons is enjoying having a large contingent of Wolverines here working toward the common goal of bring back a state team trophy.
  
"My teammates are helping me get prepared, too," Lyons said. "Any place down here is good, because we worked hard all year just to get down here."
 
Moore added: "We were just doing what we've been doing all year and trying to have fun out there."
 
  
Dike-New Hartford's shuttle hurdle relay quartet of Cade Fuller, Grant Bixby, Ely Sohn and Seth Eden ran 59.64, the fastest prelim time in Class 2A to qualify for Saturday's finals. The time trims this group's previous season best of 59.69. The finals run at approximately 12:15 p.m. on Saturday.
 
  
D-NH's sophomore sprinter Eden Barrett ran 27.36 for 22nd in Class 2A in the girls 200. The finals cutoff was 26.50.
 
For more coverage of state track and field, see next week's Grundy Register. Subscribe by calling (319) 824-6958 or clicking here. 
 
Photos: 2019 State Track and Field - Dike-New Hartford: Day 1
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