April 19, 2009

Local Drake Relays Qualifiers

GIRLS

100

Chloe Hoagland, West.

Jessica Gehrke, West.

1,500

 

Nichole Engelhardt, West

Rachel Hegeman, West.

3,000

Rachel Hegeman, West.

Nicohole Engelhardt, West.

Allison Fick, West.

Taylor Fehlberg, West.

 

100 hurdles

Brooke Ludvicek, West

 

4x100

West High.

4x400

West High.

4x800

West High.

Sprint medley

West High.

Shuttle hurdle

West High.

Long jump

Jessica Gehrke, West.

Shot put

Courtney Fritz, West.

Micaela Haight, West.

Discus

Micaela Haight, West.

Courtney Fritz, West.

April 19, 2009 Late Friday Night Roundup Girls track • WEST: The Women of Troy won 14 of 19 events and scored almost double any other team Friday at the Draxton Stier Wilkinson Invitational at Linn-Mar. "We have a team that has depth like we've never had before," West coach Mike Parker said. On a night of impressive finishes, junior Jessica Gehrke broke her own record in the 100, crossing the tape in 12.39. She also helped anchor the 4x100 to the state's fastest time of 49.71. Micaela Haight topped 43 feet for the first time this year with a Class 4A-best 43-1 heave. Parker said his team, which has 19 event entries -- more than any other program -- in the Drake Relays, is looking forward to that challenge. "We know what next week holds, and we're looking forward to it," Parker said. Team scores -- 1. West 241; 2. C.R. Kennedy 125; 3. Mount Pleasant 76; 4. Dubuque Hempstead 74; 5. C.R. Prairie 64. WEST PLACEWINNERS 100 -- 1. Jessica Gehrke 12.39; 3. Chloe Hoagland 13.07. 200 -- 4. Mariah Hinton 27.24; 6. Tiffany Roth 27.89. 400 -- 1. Jessica Shull 1:01.88; 4. Erin Davidson 1:04.88. 800 -- 1. Paige Engelhardt 2:27.77; 2. Taylor Fehlberg 2:27.79. 1,500 -- 1. Nichole Engelhardt 5:01.37; 2. Allison Fick 5:10.30. 3,000 -- 1. Nichole Engelhardt 10:31.67; 2. Jenna Broghamer 11:29.65. 100 hurdles -- 3. Nicole Jensen 17.48. 400 hurdles -- 1. Liza Minor 1:08.58; 3. Erin Davidson 1:12.73. 4x100 -- 1. West (Brooke Ludvicek, Rachel Hegeman, Morgan Roskos, Jessica Gehrke) 49.71. 4x200 -- 2. West (Brooke Ludvicek, Katelyn Kelley, Lauren Stoner, Kalee Schilling) 1:48.47. 4x400 -- 1. West (Kalee Schilling, Shahana Williams, Liza Minor, Jessica Shull) 4:09.93. 4x800 -- 1. West (Allison Fick, Griffin Reed, Alison Stephen, Sara Stewart) 10:08.29. Sprint medley -- 2. West (Lauren Stoner, Rebecca Tanner, Katelyn Kelley, Whitney Schuette) 1:57.28. Distance medley -- 1. West (Alex McDougall, Mariah Hinton, Tiffany Roth, Rachel Hegeman) 4:25.19. Shuttle hurdle -- 1. West (Brooke Ludvicek, Rebecca Tanner, Liza Minor, Natalie Mason) 1:09.46. High jump -- 2. Ashley Weinschenk 4-10; 3. Caroline Van Voorhis 4-10. Long jump -- 1. Jessica Gehrke 18-10; 4. Elizabeth Ebot 15-8. Shot put -- 1. Micaela Haight 42-6; 2. Cara Jansen 38-4. Discus -- 1. Courtney Fritz 128-7; 2. Micaela Haight 120-1.

West High track clinic Saturday

West High's girls track and field coaching staff and athletes are holding an instructional camp for boys and girls grades two through eight from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.

The cost is $30 for the camp and T-Shirt.

Entry forms can be downloaded at the West High athletics Web site and also at http://runwest.tripod.com. Forms can be dropped off or mailed to West High at 2901 Melrose Ave., Iowa City. Questions can be directed to coach Mike Parker at 354-7682.

West freshman is athlete of week

West High freshman Rachel Hegeman was named the Mississippi Valley Conference girls track athlete of the week for March 30 through April 4.

Hegeman won the 800-meter run by nearly three seconds at Muscatine's Washburn Invitational, and she owns the best times of the season in the MVC in both the 800 and 1500 at 2:24.99 and 5:01.83, respectively.

April 16, 2009

Dual-threats help West soccer, track

Prep sports notebook

Susan Harman
Prep sports notebook

The West High girls' soccer team was ranked ninth in the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union preseason rankings, and the Women of Troy have done nothing to dim their top-10 luster with a 3-0 start.

West is carrying 19 players this year, a handful more than usual, because it has returned to a prior policy allowing students to try two sports at once in the spring. Four girls are playing soccer as well as competing on the track team: Micaela Haight, Rachel Hegeman, Erin Davidson and Mary Hausler.

"I think there are a lot of factors that have gone into this," West High soccer coach Dave Rosenthal said. "One of the deciding factors to go back to this was that we've got kids doing multiple sports. We've got kids, they'll play a high school sport, but then they'll finish that and go off to a club sport practice. They seem to be finding ways to jam it all in."

Girls track coach Mike Parker said the idea was raised by parents and students last fall, and principal Jerry Arganbright and athletics director Marv Reiland were amenable to trying to make it work for the athletes involved.

"It seems to come up every year," Parker said. "For a whole long list of reasons we've decided we weren't going to do it, and this year it's been working great for both of us."

Parker said Arganbright and Reiland deserve the credit for agreeing to try to work something out that would benefit both programs and all four athletes.

Rosenthal and Parker began working last December to set up a schedule to prioritize practices, meets and games.

"We set that schedule in stone," Rosenthal said. "We said, 'Here's the schedule. This is what it's going to be. If you can't abide by this then you need to choose one or the other.' There's some flexibility built into it for one reason or another."

Haight is a goalkeeper and also the leading thrower on the track team. Hegeman, a distance runner, was just named the MVC track athlete of the week and plays midfield on the soccer team. Davidson has been primarily a soccer athlete but when presented with the opportunity to do both this spring, she jumped at it. Hausler is a freshman goalkeeper.

For years City High has allowed athletes to try two sports at once, but West's participation numbers were so high that administrators felt compelled to limit kids to one sport. But Parker pointed out that West Des Moines Valley, the last team to best West High in any kind of track meet and one of the biggest schools in the state, has shared elite athletes like Whitney Sharpe in both track and soccer.

"She helped them win three events in the state championships in 2005," Parker said. "They got the benefit of doing both.

"I don't know who (West's decision to share) benefited the most, but it's definitely benefited both of us."

The change has required cooperation among coaches, kids, parents and administrators. It's also required that the one-sport athletes accept the fact that some of their teammates will be absent at times.

"There are several varsity kids that are upset, that they feel that track athletes are spending more time with track than soccer," Rosenthal said. "It is a little track heavy because they are hitting their tough time of the year. But we've all made that agreement. We all understand what's going on, and once track is over we've got them all specifically for soccer."

At this point both teams are unbeaten. A year ago West's girls soccer team was almost 1-for-April, having lost five of its first six games before getting it together for a run to the state semifinals. So this start is welcome.

What's interesting is that West is doing so with a bizarre schedule that has it playing one home game before May 7. One.

"I was talking to another coach the other day, and he was saying that's happening just the opposite with them," Rosenthal said. "Next year will be just the opposite (for West)."

West graduated five seniors, three of whom were key cogs. But the Women of Troy returned a number of players who started or have extensive experience, and that's helped with the heavy road schedule.

West beat Dubuque Wahlert, North Scott and an improved West Waterloo all on the road so far. Rosenthal takes particular pleasure in the victory at North Scott, accomplished without its leading goalkeeper. The Lancers are the team that West beat to reach the state tournament a year ago, and they remain a tough team.

"That was a very good game for us," he said. "This is a group of kids that's doing well with respect to coachability. We've got some good pace. They've been making the changes that need to be made during a game, which is really nice to have."

All-state midfielder Kelsey Dolder, who will play at Northern Iowa next year, has had a nice start both scoring and assisting.

"We're doing pretty well," Rosenthal said. "We've still got work to do. One of the things about the MVC this year, for lack of a better term, there's a lot of parity. It's really nice for soccer to constantly have competition."

• DRAKE BIDS COMING: Drake Relays prep qualifiers will be posted for coaches today (for verification purposes) and for the general public no later than 4 p.m. Saturday at www.drakerelays.org. The high school events begin a week from today at 3 p.m. with field events and on the track at 4:20 p.m. with the girls 3,000 meters.

The Relays will present the 20 "athletes of the century" at 7:30 p.m. that night at the Knapp Center . The public is invited.

 

West travels to Linn-Mar on Friday for the Kennedy Relays at 5pm.

.C. West's Gehrke makes it look easy

MARION — She has been asked by many. Her fans. Her family.

How does Jessica Gehrke make it look so easy?

"They say I make it look effortless," said the star from Iowa City West. "They ask me if I'm running hard. Yes, I'm running hard."

Such is the life of the gifted.

Gehrke competed in three events at the J-Hawk Relays girls' track meet Saturday afternoon at Armstrong Field, winning all of them.

The junior captured the long jump (18 feet, 1/2 inch) and the 100 meters (12.77 seconds) before anchoring West's sprint medley to gold with a sub-60 split.

West Coach Mike Parker said Gehrke makes it look easy because of her form.

"She doesn't have the high knee drive. She's very efficient," Parker said. "The stopwatch proves she's running as fast as anybody."

West won its 38th straight meet — the Women of Troy haven't been outscored since the 2005 state meet — in convincing fashion. Parker is more eager to talk about the number of days (1,421) it has been since the last defeat.

West won 12 of 19 events and compiled 190 points. Cedar Rapids Washington was second with 100.

"You come to a nine-team meet — and these are decent teams — and win 12 events, that's a good day for us," Parker said. "We take a lot of pride in our depth. Our success later this season will ride with our depth."

In addition to Gehrke's triple, West got titles from Rachel Hegeman (3,000), Courtney Fritz (discus), Micaela Haight (shot put), Morgan Roskas (200), Nichole Engelhardt (1,500) and the shuttle hurdle, distance medley, 400-meter and 1,600-meter relays.

April 12, 2009

West High girls first in 13 events

West High lapped the field at the J-Hawk Invitational Saturday at Cedar Rapids Jefferson.

The Women of Troy won 13 events, the most they've ever won there, and took the team title with 190 to 90 for second-place Cedar Falls.

Jessica Gehrke had another strong meet, winning the long jump, 100 and running anchor on the sprint medley.

Team scores -- Not available.

Winner, West placewinners

Shot put -- 1. Micaela Haight (W) 42-1; 3. Courtney Fritz (W) 36-5.

Discus -- 1. Courntey Fritz (W) 128-7; 3. Micaela Haight (W) 114-5.

Long jump -- 1. Jessica Gehrke (W) 18-½; 2. Shahana Williams (W) 15-10.

High jump -- 1. Layloni Beard (CRW) 5-0.

3,000 -- 1. Rachel Hegeman (W) 10:40.35; 4. Alison Fick (W) 10:51.88.

4x800 -- 1. Cedar Falls 9:56.79; 2. West (Taylor Fehlberg, Jenna Broghamer, Paige Engelhardt, Sara Stewart)10:04.67.

Shuttle hurdle -- 1. West (Brooke Ludvicek, Rebecca Tanner, Rachel AAscoli, Liza Minor) 1:10.41.

100 -- 1. Jessica Gehrke (W) 12.77; 5. Morgan Roskas (W) 13.46.

Distance medley -- 1. West (Mariah Hinton, Kalee Schilling, Tiffany Roth, Jessica Shull) 4:25.40.

400 -- 1. Megan Titler (CRP) 62.86; 3. Whitnie Schulte (W) 63.48.

4x200 -- 1. C.R. Jefferson 1:49.22.

100 hurdles -- 1. Layloni Beard (CRW) 16.5; 2. Liza Minor (W) 17.03; 6. Rebecca Tanner (W) 17.17.

800 -- 1. Lydia Martin (M) 2:25.51; 2. Taylor Fehlberg (W) 2:27.11; 6. Paige Engelhardt (W) 2:31.72.

200 -- 1. Morgan Roskas (W) 27.17; 4. Katie Kelley (W) 27.90.

400 hurdles -- 1. Brooke Foreman (CRW) 1:09.62.

Sprint medley -- 1. West (Brooke Ludvicek, Chloe Hoagland, Shana Williams, Jessica Gehrke) 1:51.76.

1,500 -- 1. Nichole Engelhardt (W) 4:54.05; 2. Rachel Hegeman (W) 5:01.30.

4x100 -- 1. West (Lauren Stoner, Chloe Hoagland, Brooke Ludvicek, Morgan Roskos) 51.82.

4x400 -- 1. West (Kalee Schilling, Whitney Schuette, Liza Minor, Jessica Shull) 4:09.43

April 8, 2009 West’s records fall Women of Troy dominate at home relays By Susan Harman Iowa City Press-Citizen It’s a wonder any teams want to come to the Women of Troy Relays. West High puts out the red carpet with a well-run event, to be sure, but then the team pulls that rug right out from under the visitors. West won 12 of the 19 events, setting a couple meet records to boot, in capturing its home meet by 127 points over runner-up Cedar Rapids Xavier. “It was a great overall performance,” West coach Mike Parker said. “That’s something we continue to take great overall pride in. We have superstars, no doubt about it. But we take more pride in making it to state in 19 events rather than winning. That’s what will make us successful this year when we get there.” Junior Jessica Gehrke shattered the meet record in the long jump with a leap of 17 feet, 7.75 inches. The previous mark was 16-10.25, set 11 years ago by Prairie’s Fiona Asigbee. Gehrke wasn’t through, breaking the meet record in the 200 meters with a time of 25.79. That was .11 better than the 2006 mark set by Benton’s Callan Jacobson. She later anchored the winning 4x100 relay that included Brooke Ludvicek, Chloe Hoagland and Lauren Stoner. Gehrke and Stoner overcame a deficit caused by a sluggish handoff between the second and third legs. Senior Nichole Engelhardt got the Women of Troy off well with a near-record time of 10:42.82 in the 3,000 meters. Engelhardt’s time was just one second off the 2004 meet record set by Sarah Wickman. “It was nice to run the (3,000),” Engelhardt said. “This was the first outdoor meet I’ve run it in.” Engelhardt doubled up with a victory in the 800 meters in a time of 2:25.53. Teammate Taylor Fehlberg was second. “I normally run eights and 15s and 3s,” she said. “I love (the 800). It’s probably not my best event, but I really like the speed. I really like being on the 4x8.” West followed up with a victory in the 4x800. Leadoff runner Jessica Shull established a five-second lead on her leg, which was increased to eight by Paige Engelhardt and 10 by Whitney Schuette. Anchor Taylor Fehlberg finished off the strong showing as West won by 16 seconds. The 4x200 team of Katie Kelley, Chloe Hoagland, Morgan Roskos and Shahana Williams won in a time of 1:47.85. Roskos’ third leg was instrumental in handing the lead to Williams, who cruised in for the victory. Senior Kalee Schilling won the 400 and anchored the winning 4x400. “(Schilling) is the only returnee from our 4x400 at state last year,” Parker said. “She’s kind of the leader of that group. We have a freshman, Jessica Shull, who led off our 4x400 and had the fastest split in the 4x4 and led off our 4x800 that won.” Juniors Micaela Haight and Courtney Fritz continued West’s dominance by going one-two in the shot put and discus for West High. Fritz’s 38-4 in the shot was a personal best, and Haight had her best throw of the year with 42-6. Senior Liza Minor captured the 400 hurdles in 1:10.02. Rachel Hegeman and Allison Fick finished one-two in the 1,500 meters. “There’s no area where we’d say this is what we’re banking on and no one else is going to help out,” Parker said. “Obviously, whatever Jessica Gehrke is in, that’s something we plan to do really well in. But our speed is as good as it ever has been in my 13 years here, and our field events are as good as ever.” Women of Troy Relays Team results: 1. West High 215, 2. C.R. Xavier 88, 3. Burlington 71, 4. Linn-Mar 57, 5T. Kennedy and Prairie 53, 7. Mount Pleasant 34, 8 Muscatine 18. Individual results (Top 3 and all West placewinners) 3000—1. Nichole Engelhardt (W) 10:42.82, 2. Carolyn Newhouse (LM) 11:06.04, 3. Mackenzie Eland (Bur) 11:16.32, 4. Jenna Broghamer (W) 11:26.30. 4x800—1. West High (Jessica Shull, Paige Engelhardt, Whitney Schuette, Taylor Fehlberg) 10:16.24, 2. Mount Pleasant 10:32.44, 3. C.R. Prairie 10:32.79. Shuttle Hurdle relay—1. Mount Pleasant (Rebekah Kimzey, Laura Alderson, Hannah Sinclair, Kim Scarbrough) 1:11.96, 2. Burlington 1:12.45, 3. Linn-Mar 1:13.88, 4. West High (Rebecca Tanner, Ali Hansen, Jesse Robinson, Rachel Ascoli) 1:13.93. 100—1. Aubrey Lindgren (CRX) 12.67, 2. Brooke Ludvicek (W) 12.69, 3. Kate Steingreaber (CRX) 12.94, 5. Shahana Williams (W) 13.11. Distance medley—1. Linn-Mar (Krista McCright, Chelsea Thayer, Chelsie Burkle, Emily Saville) 4:29.52, 2. West (Tiffany Roth, Mariah Hinton, Erin Davidson, Rachel Hegeman) 4:30.12, 3. C.R. Xavier 4:38.18. 400—1. Kalee Schilling (W) 1:03.36, 2. Katie Carver (CRP) 1:03.57, 3. Whitney Schuette (W) 1:04.05. 4x200—1. West High (Katie Kelley, Chloe Hoagland, Morgan Roskos, Shahana Williams) 1:47.85, 2. C.R. Xavier 1:49.97, 3 C.R. Kennedy 1:50.32. 100 hurdles—1. Brena Peterson (Bur) 16.63, 2. Mackenzie Welsh (CRK) 17.27, 3. Liza Minor (W) 17.28. 800—1. Nichole Engelhardt (W) 2:25.53, 2. Taylor Fehlberg (W) 2:29.49, 3. Hannah Rohlings (CRK) 2:34.94. 200—1. Jessica Gehrke (W) 25.79*, 2. Daysha Lichty (CRK) 27.47, 3. Aubrey Lindgren (CRX) 27.47, 5. Brooke Ludvicek (W) 27.89. 400 hurdles—1. Liza Minor (W) 1:10.02, 2. Kris Hanson (CRX) 1:12.26, 3. Rebekah Kimzey (MP) 1:14..46. Sprint medley—1. C.R. Xavier (Kate Steingreaber, Erin Lynch, Tyler Sampson, Eimly Whitters)1:51.69, 2. Linn-Mar 1:56.65, 3. West High (Morgan Roskos, Mariah Hinton, Tiffany Roth, Erin Davidson) 1:57.04. 1500—1. Rachel Hegeman (W) 5:03.40, 2. Allison Fick (W) 5:09.25, 3. Mackenzie Eland (Bur) 5:17.35. 4x100—1. West High (Brooke Ludvicek, Chloe Hoagland, Lauren Stoner, Jessica Gehrke) 50.15, 2. C.R. Xavier 50.04***, 3.. C.R. Kennedy 52.02. 4x400—1. C.R. Xavier (Tyler Sampson, Emily Ries, Emily Whitters, Hannah Breitbach) 4:10.88, 2. West High (Jessica Shull, Whitney Schuette, Liza Minor, Kalee Schilling) 4:12.98, 3. Linn-Mar 4:22.86. Shot put—1. Micaela Haight (W) 42-6, 2. Courtney Fritz (W) 38-4, 3. Alissa Martin (Mus) 35-5. Discus—1. Micaela Haight (W) 120-1, 2. Courtney Fritz (W) 118-1, 3. Amanda Picke (LM) 107-4. High jump—1. Khanishah Williams (Bur) 5-3, 2. Rachel Peters (CRP) 5-1, 3. Victoria Ita (Bur) 5-1, 5. Caroline VanVoorhis (W) 4-10, 6. Ashley Weinschenk (W) 4-10. Long jump—1. Jessica Gehrke (W) 17-7.75*, 2. Shelby Crist (CRP) 15-8.75, 3. Shahana Williams (W) 15-7.5. *Meet record.

April 4, 2009 Gehrke lifts West Prep track roundup West High's Jessica Gehrke won three events and broke the school record in the 100 meters as the Women of Troy dominated the Dick Washburn Invitational on Friday in Muscatine with 218 points. Gehrke won the 100 in 12.20 seconds, breaking Lisa Mellecker's old school record of 12.31 from 2006. The time was also a meet record. Gehrke also tied the meet record in the 200 by winning in 25.93, and won the long jump with a leap of 17-feet, 6¾-inches. Kalee Schilling won the 400 for West, Rachel Hegeman won the 800, Micaela Haight won the shot put, Courtney Fritz won the discus, and the Women of Troy won the 4x100 relay. Team scores -- 1. West High 218; 2. Pleasant Valley 141; 3. Cedar Rapids Washington 95; 4. Bettendorf 72; 5. Cedar Rapids Prairie 61; 6. Clinton 60; 7. Dubuque Hempstead 55; 8. Muscatine 29. Winners, West place-winners: 3,000 -- 1. Maddy Becker (CRW) 10:55.48; 2. Taylor Fehlberg (W) 10:58.95; 5. Jenna Broghamer (W) 11:24.11. 4x800 -- 1. Pleasant Valley 9:52.37; 2. West High (Whitney Shuette, Jessica Shull, Paige Engelhardt, Rachel Hegeman) 10:01.06. Shuttle hurdle relay -- 1. Pleasant Valley 1:07.94; 2. West High (Brooke Ludvicek, Erin Davidson, Rachel Ascoli, Liza Minor) 1:11.17. 100 -- 1. Jessica Gehrke (W) 12.20; 3. Chloe Hoagland (W) 12.55. Distance medley relay -- 1. Bettendorf 4:22.41; 2. West High (Morgan Roskos, Katie Kelley, Alison Stephan, Nicole Engelhardt) 4:24.72. 400 -- 1. Kalee Schilling (W) 1:03.61; 8. Sara Miller (W) 1:08.53. 4x200 -- 1. Pleasant Valley 1:49.00; 4. West High (McDougall, Hoagland, Roth, Hinton) 1:51.83. 100 hurdles -- 1. Layloni Beard (CRW) 15.86; 3. Ludvicek (W) 16.13; 8. Rachel Ascoli (W) 17.68. 800 -- 1. Rachel Hegeman (W) 2:24.99; 3. Taylor Fehlberg (W) 2:29.48. 200 -- 1. Jessica Gehrke (W) 25.93; 2. Shanana Williams (W) 26.61. 400 hurdles -- 1. Susan Rodriguez (PV) 1:05.72; 2. Minor (W) 1:10.98. Sprint medley relay -- 1. Clinton 1:57.24; 3. West High (Mariah Hinton, Chloe Hoagland, Tiffany Roth, Erin Davidson) 1:58.00. 1,500 -- 1. Payton Strawder (PV) 4;58.85; 2. Nicole Englehardt (W) 5:02.05; 3. Allison Fick (W) 5:09.44. 4x100 -- 1. West High (Ludvicek, Roskos, Kelley Williams) 51.31. 4x400 -- 1. Bettendorf 4:10.50; 2. West High (Whitney Shuette, Stephan, Minor, Jessica Shull) 4:15.44. Shot put -- 1. Micaela Haight (W) 41-4; 3. Courtney Fritz (W) 36-9½. Discus -- 1. Fritz (W) 122-10; 2. Haight (W) 110-11. Long jump -- 1. Gehrke (W) 17-6¾; 4. Williams (W) 15-2½. High jump -- 1. Layloni Beard (CRW) 5-2; 4. Ashley Weinschenk (W) 4-8; 5. Caroline Van Voorhis (W) 4-8.

March 31, 2009 Hitting her stride Engelhardt has risen from worst to first Susan Harman Iowa City Press-Citizen To runners at Northwest Junior High, a "duck pond" isn't necessarily a location. A "duck pond" is a distance, and not a particularly long distance at that. Running from the school to the pond in Morrison Park was enough for Nichole Engelhardt back then. Track and cross country were things to do with friends. They were not activities that demanded concentration nor required passion. "We called them 'duck ponds,'" Engelhardt remembered. "They were probably less than 800 (meters), and we would do two of them. That was like our killer workout. We would dread those days." Engelhardt spent the summer before her freshman year at West High running with her friend Jen Barrick to get ready for the season. Again, Engelhardt's connection to the sport and the team were largely social. "She and Nichole trained as far back as they possibly could," West High coach Mike Parker recalled. "Wherever the tail is to the workout, they were back there." Engelhardt had played basketball for six years but confessed she wasn't very good. She knew that anyone could go out for cross country regardless of skill level. "I had fun with my friends in junior high, so I was just totally doing it for fun," she said. Engelhardt said that she and her friend walked a lot during those "workouts." "We used to play a game where we would run in the sun and walk in the shade," Engelhardt said. "That's kind of what we did that summer." But when Barrick decided to hang up her spikes before the season began even though she had done the summer workouts, Engelhardt decided to stick around with the other girls on the team. No one would have predicted that to be a particularly fateful decision for either Engelhardt or for West High. But four years later, the reluctant runner is the recipient of a Division I scholarship from Iowa State and is one of the top distance performers in the state. It is such an unlikely story that Parker uses it in his career as a motivational speaker. "I tell her that I should provide a little bit of my fee to her," Parker said. "I often use her as an example in a story that has to do with no matter where you start, it has nothing to do with where you can finish." Engelhardt's early expectations were hardly the stuff of dreams. She just wanted to run in the races.. "I had fun with the team and had fun at the team dinners," she said. Her first year was predictable. "In cross country I remember we took 30 people to our first meet, and she was 27th, and the three people behind her were sprinters that just were on the cross country team," Parker said. But that changed. She still continued to have fun with her teammates, but there was a point at which Engelhardt's vision of the future began to mesh with Parker's. "I remember having a conversation with her during track," Parker said. "She was one of those people who looked like she was willing to do the work and maybe wasn't the most talented person, but I said if you're willing to do the work and you're a distance runner, you'll be amazed where you can go." Engelhardt said she remembers the day she "decided to start trying," as she termed it. "I've always liked track, and I've always wanted to be good in track; I just wasn't performing well," she said. "It was our last home meet my freshman year, and I had finally broken 2:30 in the 800, and I was so excited about it. He told me that if I tried I could maybe be an asset to the cross country team and be on varsity." She credits Parker with recognizing what almost no one had heretofore recognized in her and then providing the kind of workouts she needed and the encouragement to follow through. "If he hadn't come up and told me to try, I don't know what would have happened," she said. No longer did she run in the sun and walk in the shade. No longer was she a distant straggler in the summer workouts. She pushed herself to do more, even as the workouts became more rigorous, moving up to the "gold group" of varsity runners. "Her summer between her freshman and sophomore year, you think she should have signed up under a different name," Parker said. "Right away her sophomore year she was no longer climbing the ladder. She was one of our top runners her sophomore year. And she's continued to make the climb." "Sophomore year was kind of surreal," Engelhardt said. "I didn't really know what I was doing. I was kind of just following Sarah (Wickman) and Jordan (Stahlecker)." But Engelhardt's progress came because she had different goals, and the work she put in gave her the confidence to believe she could meet them. The team's more established runners helped push her and encouraged her. By the time she was a junior she started to think about continuing to run in college. She was surprised when Parker suggested that he could help her train toward that end. As a senior she won the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet individual cross country title and the Class 4A regional individual championship. She won the 3,000 meters at the MVC indoor championships. And she earned a scholarship to run in college. She remains a living, breathing example to everyone in West's program who has ever looked at the team leaders and thought, "I'll never be able to do that." "No one has gone from being as far back to being as high," Parker said. "I'm not sure there could be a bigger extreme than being last place on a high school team and then signing a Division I scholarship."

March 25, 2009

Engelhardt is MVC Athlete of the Week

the Press-Citizen

Nichole Engelhardt has been named Athlete of the Week for Mississippi Valley Conference women's track.

The Iowa City West senior has been on the outstanding distance runners in the MVC throughout her career. She won the 3000 meter run at the MVC Indoor Meet with a time of 10:58.80. Engelhardt has also posted the best 1500 meter time so far in the conference with a 5:09.15.

CEDAR FALLS —

 

Jessica Gehrke runs like a prized automobile.

 

 

 

 She’s has the speed of a Porsche and the elegance of a Rolls-Royce. But the Iowa City West junior lacks something those cars possess — cruise control.

“It’s always go, go, go,” Gehrke said.

 

It was no different Tuesday when she displayed her wheels on the UNI-Dome track. Gehrke sped to two individual titles and contributed to a championship relay at the A.D. Dickinson girls state indoor track meet.

 

“She did a great job,” West Coach Mike Parker said. “Everything she’s doing is what we expected of Jessica, and that’s to be as good as anybody.”

 

Even away from competition, she has a similar approach,

“I’m a big competitor in pretty much everything,” Gehrke said. “I still try to have fun no matter what I’m doing.”

 

The powerful sprinter’s explosiveness is matched by few. Parker said it’s a “good combination” of natural ability and hard work.

 

“Obviously, she’s just a naturally talented athlete,” Parker said. “That’s always good to see, but we have respect for people that train like animals and she does.”

 

West has had elite competitors with multiple state titles serve as leaders, and Gehrke is playing that role now. Parker said Gehrke hasn’t missed one off-season workout and called her a strong leader by example and a good teammate.

 

“I work as hard as I do as a meet in practice,” Gehrke said. “I always give my all.”

 

Gehrke’s trophy case was missing an individual state title.

 

She’d shared in team and relay state titles. She captured her first solo crown Tuesday, accelerating to the 60-meter dash title in 7.81 seconds.

She improved her qualifying time by .02 seconds, after being the only runner to break the 8-second mark in prelims.

 

“I worked really hard for that,” Gehrke said. “I worked on my blocks to get faster and then keep my speed. Keep pushing down the whole runway.”

 

The full-throttle attitude was displayed when she finished the 60 and almost immediately reported to the long jump area for the final flight.

 

She wasted little time, jumping 18 feet, 3 1/4 inches on her first attempt.

Waukee’s Ar’tiana Black-Scott took the lead with a jump of 18-4 1/2, but Gehrke responded on her final jump with a personal best 18-10.

 

“It felt great,” Gehrke said. “It was really important for me, because it showed my mental toughness.”

 

She gathered her thoughts before the final try with a goal of 18-9.

 

“I just said, ‘Go for it. Do my best,’” Gehrke said. “I really wanted to get that jump in.”

 

Gehrke anchored the winning 800 relay team with a 24-second split, helping Brooke Ludvicek, Shahana Williams and Morgan Roskos to a time of 1:46.23.

 

“it was really exciting,” Gehrke said. “I was really ready today. I just felt great.”

 

Few motors can run as high or hard as Gehrke’s. The never-slow-down traits seem natural to her.

 

“I don’t think it’s very hard for me because I’m a very competitive person,” Gehrke said. “Especially when I go from event to event and I have that adrenaline, it kind of keeps going the whole day.”

 

The day was filled with top performances.

 

A Mount Vernon foursome of Holly Salzbrenner, Emily Ryan, Alex Wilson and Karly Cochrane won the 3,200 relay in 9:30.20. West had raced to a big lead, but the Mustangs raced to the title with an impressive anchor-leg by Cochrane, who caught and passed the Women of Troy.

 

Dike-New Hartford’s Hannah Willms wowed the crowd by winning the high jump at 6-0 1/4, the top prep height in the country this season and in the top 10 at all levels of female competition.

March 25, 2009 Gehrke leads Women of Troy Jessica Gehrke won three events to lead the West High girls track team at the State Indoor Meet on Tuesday at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. Gehrke won the long jump with a meet- and school-record leap of 18-feet, 10-inches. She beat her own indoor school record of 18-9 set last season, and topped the indoor meet state record of 18-9½. She also won the 60 meters in 7.81 seconds, and anchored the winning 4x200 relay, which also featured Brooke Lud-vicek, Shahanna Williams and Kailee Schilling. Gehrke also anchored the second-place 4x100 relay. "We've never had a three-time state champion, indoor or outdoor," West coach Mike Parker said. "It was spectacular." West's 4x800 team also was second by 0.1 seconds. West High place-winners: Shot put -- 4. Micaela Haight (W) 40-9. Long jump -- 1. Jessica Gehrke (W) 18-10. 4x200 -- 1. West High (Brooke Ludvicek, Shahanna Williams, Kailee Schilling, Gehrke) 1:46.23. 4x800 -- 2. West High (Rachel Hageman, Nicole Jensen, Taylor Fehlberg, Nichole Engelhardt) 9:50.30. 1,500 -- 3. Hageman (W) 5:02.07; 4. Engelhardt (W) 5:02.31. 60 hurdles -- 7. Natalie Mason (W) 9.82. 60 -- 1. Gehrke (W) 7.81. 4x100 -- 2. West High (Ludvicek, Morgan Roskos, Katie Kelly, Gehrke) 50.65. 4x400 -- 6. West High (Jessica Shull, Liza Minor, Mason, Schilling) 4:15.97.

 

 

 

The Women of Troy head to the Indoor State Championships on Tuesday at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls for the final indoor meet of the year.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009 12:05 PM CDT

I.C. West rules UNI-Dome

By BRIAN PALS, Courier Sports Writer

CEDAR FALLS --- Early in the season or late, all Iowa City West knows how to do is dominate.

Falling during many schools' spring break, the season-opening Mississippi Valley indoor meet at the UNI-Dome serves as a tune-up for most teams. The three-time defending state champion Women of Troy aren't most teams, though, and they rolled through Monday's meet in typical fashion, winning 12 of 17 events.

"One advantage that we have is that none of our girls know anything other than this," said Trojans coach Mike Parker. "Our freshmen now were in fifth grade the last time this team lost a track meet, so they've only known success."

Although team scores weren't kept, Iowa City West junior Jessica Gehrke put her individual stamp on the meet, winning both the 60 meters (7.47 seconds) and the long jump (17 feet, 4.75 inches) by significant margins.

Cedar Falls, another squad accustomed to having its way on the track, is sporting a new look this year. With brand-new black warm-ups and singlets, the Tigers bear little resemblance to the senior-dominated squad that placed fourth in last year's state meet.

"For us it was a glorified time trial, because we have so many runners that were in their first meet," said Tigers coach Troy Becker. "It was just a chance for us to see where we're at."

One returning Tiger senior is Paige Hersom, the only holdover from a 4x800-meter relay team that placed third in the state last year. Her individual 800 time of 2:33.50 Monday was good for fourth place.

"We had a lot of seniors last year, and this year it's a lot of freshman," Hersom said. "It's a really different team."

Waterloo East is another metro squad that's dealing with changes, as new head coach Ed Madlock takes over a team well-stocked with newcomers.

"We've got about 30 girls out, and the good part is that none of them are seniors, so we can kind of mold the team into what we want," Madlock said.

The Trojans' 4x200 team of Ashley Cummings, Pershonda Bruce, Keyla Thomas and Diajona Bates placed a solid fourth. The all-freshman and sophomore team came in ahead of powerhouse Iowa City West's squad.

Waterloo West junior Abby Coselman claimed the best metro finish of the day with a 1:04.70 in the 400, an event she qualified for state in last season. She is taking up a new distance this year, running 29.50 in her first 200 of the season.

"It would be nice to qualify in more than one distance this year," Coselman said.

The Wahawks will suit up 40 to 50 athletes this season, and will be just as youthful as their metro rivals, according to coach Ralph Longus.

"We had a couple of real good eighth-graders that ran last year, and they're definitely going to be a major part of the program," Longus said.

The UNI-Dome will host the MVC indoor boys' meet beginning at 4 p.m. today.

Contact Brian Pals at brian.pals@wcfcourier.com

3,000 - 1. Nicole Engelhardt (Iowa City West) 10:58.80; 2. Rebecca Rathwisch (Iowa CIty High) 11:08.80; 3. Maddy Becker (Cedar Rapids Washington) 11:11.27.

4x800 RELAY - 1. Iowa City West 10:21.05; 2. Dubuque Wahlert A 10:25.71; 3. Dubuque Wahlert B 10:32.86. Cedar Falls - 11:45.00.

SHUTTLE HURDLE RELAY - 1. Iowa City West 39.36; 2. Iowa City High 41.72; 3. Dubuque Hempstead 42.59. Cedar Falls - 45.00.

DISTANCE MEDLEY RELAY - 1. Iowa City West 4:34.49; 2. Dubuque Hempstead 4:40.49; 3. Dubuque Senior 4:40.79. Cedar Falls - 4:42.10.

60 - 1. Jessica Gehrke (ICW) 7.47; 2. Ashley Wilkinson (ICH) 7.68; 3. Maggie Schatzel (CRK) 7.85. Cedar Falls: Jacqueline Jordan 7.90, Cassie Crotty 8.34, Kelsey Flemming 8.69. Waterloo East: Shakeyla Scott 8.42, Brittany Madlock 8.67, Pershonda Bruce 8.86, Miosha Quinn 8.86. Waterloo West: Dominique Lyles 8.96, Jori Jacobson 10.00, Cait Denning 11.70, Brandie Lenius 11.80.

400 - 1. Mariah Steinburg-Garner (CRW) 1:04.34; 2. Abby Coselman (WW) 1:04.70; 3. M. Titler (Cedar Rapids Prairie) 1:05.13. Waterloo East: Daytazsha Payson 1:09.30, Jackie Riggins 1:10.60, Janae Stigler 1:12.10, Daeja O'Donnell 1:17.50. Waterloo West: Coselman 1:04.70, Kristina Rudie 1:18.00.

4x200 RELAY - 1. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 1:49.64; 2. Cedar Rapids Jefferson 1:50.38; 3. Iowa City High 1:51.19. Cedar Falls A 2:00.60; Cedar Falls B - 2:01.72; Waterloo East A - 1:51.50; Waterloo East B - 2:15.15; Waterloo West 1:57.20.

60 HURDLES - 1. Natalie Mason (ICW) 9.25; 2. Layloni Beard (CRW) 9.80; 3. Katie Naber (CRJ) 9.85. Cedar Falls: Kaitlyn Gillett 10.41, Megan Hartman 10.56, Abby Hermanson 10.76, Hannah Reibkes 11.44. Waterloo West: Rachel Swisher 11.25.

800 - 1. Nicole Jensen (ICW) 2:30.24; 2. Ashley Fuller (ICH) 2:30.25; 3. Hannah Roling (CRK) 2:33.12. Cedar Falls: Paige Hersom 2:33.50, Allie Wirth 2:44.40, Rebecca Oberreider 2:47.90.

200 - 1. Ashley Heffernen (CRK) 27.20; 2. Daysha Lichty (CRK) 27.44; 3. Shahana Williams (ICW) 27.49. Cedar Falls: Jordan 28.30, Crotty 28.35, Alexis Higgins 29.43, Kaitlyn Hennings 30.00. Waterloo East: Daytazsha Parsons 29.36, Ashley Cummings 29.98, Essoria Greer 30.20, Dakia Frazier 30.40. Waterloo West: Zinka Duric 28.00, Coselman 29.50, Dominique Lyles 31.90, S. Tooson 33.60.

SPRINT MEDLEY RELAY - 1. Dubuque Wahlert 2:00.38; 2. Cedar Rapids Jefferson 2:00.95; 3. Iowa City West 2:02.39. Cedar Falls - 2:13.55. Waterloo East - 2:17.30. Waterloo West - 2:09.90.

1,500 - 1. Allison Frick (ICW) 5:15.87; 2. Taylor Fehlberg (ICW) 5:15.98; 3. Maddy Becker (CRW) 5:20.72. Waterloo West: Haley Waschkat 5:56.41.

4x100 RELAY - 1. Iowa City West 50.70; 2. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 53.15; 3. Iowa City High 54.30. Cedar Falls - 57.90. Waterloo East A - 56.10; Waterloo East B - 57.90.

4x400 RELAY - 1. Iowa CIty WEst 4:16.66; 2. Iowa CIty High 4:21.33; 3. Cedar Rapids Jefferson 4:24.10. Cedar Falls A - 4:26.12; Cedar Falls B - 4:50.00; Waterloo East - 5:17.32.

HIGH JUMP - 1. Virginia Johnson (ICH) 5-2; 2. Beard (CRW) 5-2; 3 . (tie) Caroline Van Voorhies (ICW) 4-10, Beth Larsen (ICH) 4-10. Cedar Falls: Alexis Higgins 4-0.

LONG JUMP - 1. Gehrke (ICW) 17-4.75; 2. Shelby Crist (CRP) 15-8.5; 3. Caitlin Ward (ICH) 15-3.75. Cedar Falls: Chelsea Herkelman 15-2.0.

SHOT PUT - 1. Micaela Haight (ICW) 39-3; 2. Marion Epperson (CRW) 38-4; 3. Courtney Fritz (ICW) 36-9. Cedar Falls: Carrie Panther 32-0, Mercedes Larson 26-0, Sam Meehan 25-3.

 

Every year at the Girls State Basketball tournament the Iowa Girls Athletic Union recognizes the State Champions in every sport. the girls track and field team traveled to Des Moines on Saturday to attend the Parade of Champions for winning the 4A Track and Field title last year.

 

West High Alum named to Big 12 All-Academic Team

 

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Nine Jayhawks have been named to the 2008 Academic All-Big 12 Cross Country Teams, the conference office announced Tuesday afternoon.

 

Six KU women’s runners were honored, all of them making the first team. The list includes senior Megan James, junior Lauren Bonds, and sophomores Kaitlyn Coen, Claire Hall, Amanda Miller and Riley Wertenberger. The six Jayhawk women were among 60 first-team selections and 66 overall.

October 17, 2008

Girls win at the wire with their sixth runner

Susan Harman
Iowa City Press-Citizen

CEDAR RAPIDS -- West and City were fit to be tied. Again.

The second- and third-ranked girls cross country teams in the state are so evenly matched that the Mississippi Valley Conference Mississipi Division championship came down to the sixth runner for each team. Tied after five runners, City High was the winner when its sixth runner, Cassidy White, finished 12th and West's sixth runner was 17th.

It was the second year in a row where the two teams tied and had to go to a sixth runner to break the tie. Last year, West won on the tiebreaker.

Thursday's result reversed the finish at last week's Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet in Dubuque when West High won by three points, moving the Women of Troy to No. 2 in the state rankings this week ahead of City High.

"We knew it was going to be that close," West High coach Mike Parker said.

"Last week, we made a tactical error and didn't get out with West, and we had to wind through the mob, and it really cost us," City High coach Tom Mittman said. "Today, we got out, but West still competed extraordinarily well, and all I can say is we meet them one more time, and I'm sure it will be just as exciting."

West High freshman Rachel Hegeman was the individual winner and named conference athlete of the year. She finished in 14 minutes, 58 seconds, just two seconds ahead of City sophomore Rebecca Rethwisch and 13 seconds ahead of West High's Super Conference champion Nichole Engelhardt.

Rethwisch's performance set the tone for the Little Hawks.

"This week, we just wanted to get out right behind them and stay with them and see what we could do at the end," City High junior Emily Fagan said.

This was Hegeman's first victory after finishing runner-up to her teammate twice this season. Sarah Wickman was the only other freshman in Parker's 14-year tenure to win this race for West High.

"Rachel is a tough competitor, and all week we prepared Rachel and Nichole to run to be the Mississippi Valley athlete of the year," Parker said. "She's consistently getting better."

City's Rethwisch, who was fifth in the Super meet, asserted herself from the beginning by staying with Engelhardt and Hegeman, who figured to lead the pack after their 1-2 finish last week. Her challenge was critical to City's success.

"I wanted to stay with them," Rethwisch said. "It was a good pace. It was really pushing me, but that's what I need. It was really great competition. That's something we really wanted to do today."

"I was (surprised)," Hegeman said. "I thought she did really well. I didn't think she was going to be able to stay with us, but she definitely proved me wrong."

Rethwisch moved ahead of Engelhardt about halfway through the race and continued to challenge Hegeman. With about 400 meters left, she moved to Hegeman's shoulder, but the freshman responded.

"I thought 'Stay with her, stay with her, I think I'll be able to beat her at the end,'" Hegeman said. "Then I heard someone was yelling 'Beat her to the tree, beat her to the tree,' so I tried to do that."

The tree marked the turnaround for the final 200 meters to the finish.

"Sometimes you try; sometimes it just doesn't work," Rethwisch said. "She had a really great kick once we turned the tree. I tried, but I just couldn't get past her."

Mittman had nothing but admiration for Rethwisch's performance.

"Rebecca has really matured and stepped up," he said. "She planned to go with those guys, and she went right from the start and ran the race of her life. She's got more in there yet that she's still realizing. She's still learning every meet.

"She never envisioned herself being the leader of the team, and now she's been thrust into that spot and she's accepted it and has done a marvelous job."

Several of the City and West runners finished in essentially a dead heat as the Xavier volunteers did their best to designate the order of the finishers without benefit of photo equipment. It added to a chaotic sense that made no one 100 percent sure of the outcome.

"It was crazy," Fagan said. "They all ran really good races, and we were right there."

The two teams tend to keep track of each other like spy versus spy which led to the frantic finishes.

"I see the green and also when the whole rest of the team is there I hear them screaming for me that pushes me as much as anything," said Fagan, who was determined to have finished behind West's Bridget Novak even though they had the same times.

It was an extraordinary performance by both teams. All seven City High runners were in the top 13 and earned all-conference honors. Six of the top seven West runners were in the top 17 with five earning all-conference honors. Only one runner outside those two teams crashed the top 10.

MVC Mississippi Division

Team scores- 1. City High 30*; 2. West High 30; 3. Dubuque Wahlert 77; 4. Cedar Rapids Xavier 127; 5. Dubuque Hempstead 134; 6. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 172; 7. Waterloo West 178.

• City won on the basis of the sixth runner's finish.

Individual leaders (Top 7 are first-team all-conference. Second 7 are second-team all-conference) -- 1. Rachel Hegeman (W) 14:58; 2. Rebecca Rethwisch (C) 15:00; 3. Nichole Engelhardt (W) 15:11; 4. Bridget Novak (W) 15:18; 5. Emily Fagan (C) 15:18; 6. Hannah Kregel (C) 15:19; 7. Kelsey Hart (C) 15:28; 8. Alissa Rothman (W) 15:38; 9. Sarah McNamara (DW) 15:39; 10. Melanie Holman (C) 15:39; 11. Maria Kalb (DW) 15:41; 12. Cassidy White (C) 15:42; 13. Lindsay McFarland (C) 15:45; 14. Sara Stewart (W) 15:51.

 

West High -- 1. Hegeman 14:58; 3. Engelhardt 15:11; 4. Novak 15:18; 8. Rothman 15:38; 14. Stewart 15:51; 17. Allison Fick 16:05; 31. Lizzy Laikhter 16:33.

Athlete of the Year -- Rachel Hegeman, West High.

 

October 1, 2008

West hitting stride

Women of Troy look good in home meet

Susan Harman
Iowa City Press-Citizen

 

The girls race was dominated by the third-ranked Women of Troy. Senior Nichole Engelhardt took the lead out of the first straightaway and lengthened it out to win in a personal-best time of 14:47. Teammate Rachel Hegeman, a freshman, was second in 15:05.

"This is my senior year and my last home course (race), and I just really wanted to do good," Engelhardt said. "It felt great. It's a beautiful day out, perfect for running."

"Coach told me to stick the first mile with her, and so I tried to do that and just went from there," Hegeman said. "I was very happy with my race. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to break 15 (minutes)."

In a battle of third-ranked teams in four different classes, West won the team title with 39 points. Mount Vernon-Lisbon, ranked third in Class 3A, was second with 92 and Pekin, ranked third in Class 1A, was third with 103. Regina, third in 2A, was one point back in fourth.

Engelhardt and Hageman are ranked eighth and ninth in the state among 4A girls.

"I'm actually very surprised at myself," Hegeman said. "I didn't know I could improve this much."

She credited the increased competition within the West varsity for her breakout season.

"Definitely being challenged helps a lot," she said.

 

West High JV team placed 2nd to Bettendorf by 3 points led by Junior Vi Tran-Phan who placed 2nd for the Women of Troy.

VARSITY GIRLS

Team scores -- 1. West High 39; 2. Mount Vernon-Lisbon 92; 3. Pekin 103; 4. Regina 104; 5. Marshalltown 122; 6. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 129; 7. Bettendorf 131; 8. Muscatine 167; 9. Mount Pleasant 275.

Individual leaders -- 1. Nichole Engelhardt (W) 14:48; 2. Rachel Hegeman (W) 15:05; 3. Lydia Martin (Mar) 15:11; 4. Clesey Conger (P) 15:14; 5. Alex Wilson (MVL) 15:16.

West High -- 1. Engelhardt 14:47; 2. Hegeman 15:05; 7. Bridget Novak 15:30; 11. Alissa Rothman 15:32; 18. Whitney Schuette 15:57; 27. Sara Stewart 16:18; 28. Lizzy Laikhter 16:19.

West JV-- 2. Vi Tran-Phan 16:45; 5. Hannah Skopec 16:57; 6. Alison Stephan 17:01; 8. Jenna Broghamer 17:12; 13. Olivia Lofgren 17:34; 15. Paige Engelhardt 17:35; 17. Griffin Reed 17:39

West JV Team Scores--1. Bettendorf 31; 2. West 34; 3. Regina 96; 4. Pekin 144; 5. Marshalltown 184; 6. Mt. Vernon/Lisbon 189; 7. CRK 208; 8. Muscatine 258; 9. Davenport North 293; 10. Lone Tree 502; 11. Mt. Pleasant 662

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

West High's varsity team travels to Kansas this weekend for the Rim Rock Classic.

 

 

 

 

West's first meet is Monday at the Loras College Indoor.

 

 

Finishing 4th at the Lobo Invite Taylor threw 44-2.50 to set a new PR to continue on with her great season so far as a freshman at the University of Arizonia. In the Weight Throw Taylor finsihed 2nd behind her teammate with a toss of 51-3. Taylor's next meet is on the 6th in Lincoln, Nebraska.  

 

West High Alum Taylor Freeman has been having a great season so far for Arizonia Wildcats. At her first meet of the season she threw a PR in the Shot Put and placed 5th in the Lumberjack Invitational. This last weekend Taylor traveled to New Mexico and competed threw the shot again finishing 10th.

September 19, 2008

First varsity outing a win for West runners

Running with a partial varsity team, the third-ranked Women of Troy won the Fort Madison Invitational on Thursday.

Bridgett Novak led West in third place overall in 17:45. She was seven seconds back of race winner Kelsey Anderson of Washington.

"For a lot of our runners, it was the first chance to run varsity," West coach Mike Parker said. "It was a really great performance."

Fort Madison Invitational

Girls team scores -- 1. West 31; 2. Burlington 57; 3. North Scott 80; 4. Fairfield 96; 5. Mount Pleasant 132; 6. Fort Madison 149; 7. Washington 177; 8. Keokuk 186.

Top 5 -- 1. Kelsey Anderson (Wash) 17:38; 2. Kayla Neighbor (NS) 17:41; 3. Bridgett Novak (W) 17:45; 4. Mackenzie Bland (B) 17:53; 5. Alissa Rothman (W) 17:54.

WEST -- 3. Novak 17:45; 5. Rothman 17:54; 6. Sara Stewart 17:58; 8. Lizzy Laikher 18:20; 9. Bailee Goodfellow 18:22; 12. Vi Tran-Phan 18:36.

WEST JV- 1. Alison Stephan 18:31, 2. Kayla Brooks 18:43, 3. Hannah Skopec 18:54, 4. Brittany Meints 18:57, 5. Paige Engelhardt 18:58, 6. Griffin Reed 19:15, 7. Chelsee Birt 19:25, 9. Brooke Ludvicek 19:51, 11. Amy McCurdy 19:52, 15. Katie Janis 20:15, 18. JIll Aunan 21:10, 19. Tiffany Roth 21:10, 26. Emily Jacobsen 21:39, 28. Arig Bilal 21:54, 34. Zoe Lewis 23:06, 41. Ciara Boyer 23:36 48. Molly McConnell 24:50, 54. Gaelle Nzombo 25:15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 9, 2008

Engelhardt running after big goals

Prep Profile

Jon Klinkowitz
Iowa City Press-Citizen

Nichole Engelhardt doesn't mind a little competition on the cross country course, especially when it comes from her own teammate.

The West High senior edged fellow Woman of Troy Allison Fick for first place at the season-opening Cedar Rapids Prairie Invitational a week ago.

"It's great running with her," Engelhardt said. "We really push each other. We've been running together since junior high; that's when we started running."

Engelhardt is pumped up for her senior season and wants to go out on a high note.

"We've been training really hard all throughout the summer," she said. "I really want to do well at state this year. I know that it's all the seniors' goals to do well."

Her college plans are still undecided, but Engelhardt plans to study biology to one day become a physical therapist.

Nichole Engelhardt is this week's Prep Profile:

If I could visit any place in the world, it would be: Italy.

What annoys me: People who don't work to their full potential.

When I am not playing sports I am: Hanging out with my friends.

My biggest asset to the team is: Leadership.

My most prized possessions are: My photo albums.

My superstitions are: I always listen to the same songs on my iPod before meets, and I wear the same socks and hair tie.

Best sports experience: Winning state last year in track.

People would be surprised to know that I: Sleep with a stuffed animal.

Three words that describe me: Energetic, outgoing and hard-working.

Dream profession: Physical therapist.

Craziest ambition: Skydiving.

People say I look like: My mom.

Person I most admire is: My mom.

My team/personal goals for the season are: To win state as a team, and to be in the top 10 individually.

If I had $1 million I would: Give some to charity, save for college and buy a new car for my sister and myself.

I can't imagine going a week without: Music.

My favorite --

Athlete: Michael Phelps.

Pro or college team: Iowa Hawkeyes.

Class: Biology.

Food: Lasagna.

Cereal: Hy-Vee O's.

Color: Yellow.

Movie: "The Notebook."

TV show: "The Office."

Music: May Day Parade.

Book: The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling or the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer.

Actor: Orlando Bloom.

Actress: Rachel McAdams.

One final random thought (pearls of wisdom/words to live by): Believe there are no limits but the sky.

 

 

 

The Women of Troy had a fine showing at their first competition of the year, winning the Prairie Invitational over 5 other ranked schools. The team scored 22 points, its lowest score at this meet since 2001. Senior Nichole Engelhardt edged out teammate Allison Fick for the win in 15:33. West had all 7 girls in the top 11. Junior Sara Stewart won the Jv race setting the pace for a 1,2, 3 finish and 19 points for the win. Sophmore Alissa Rothman won the Fresh/Soph race by 31 seconds to handedly take that crown. The team heads to Cedar Rapids for the 39th annual Cedar Rapids Invite. This is a 19 team meet where current 2-3 in the state in City and West High will battle it out for the first time this season. The Fresh/Soph race starts at 4:40, Varsity is at 5:30 and the JV is at 6:15 at Noelridge Park.

August 27th, 2008

 

The West High Girls XC Team started off racing in their time trial on Tuesday. It was a great day for running and the girls stepped up to the plate. Everyone who ran in the time trial last year improved their time this year. Three new records were set, the Overall Record which was held by former state champion Robdu Adam, was broke by Allison Fick who won the competition for the team. She also set the Senior record with her win. Freshman Rachel Hegeman set a new Freshman Record, taking over Allison's spot, finishing 3rd in a time of 15:54, 7 seconds better than the previous time. The team has their first competition at Cedar Rapids Prairie on Tuesday, September 2nd at 5:00!!

 

 

West High Time Trial Results

 

1.       Allison Fick                          15:15

2.       Nichole Engelhardt          15:24

3.       Rachel Hegeman              15:54

4.       Taylor Fehlberg                 16:21

5.       Jenna Broghamer            16:26

6.       Whitney Schuette           16:50

7.       Bridget Novak                   16:53

8.       Alissa Rothman                 16:57

9.       Lizzy Laikhter                     16:58

10.   Vi Tran-Phan                      16:58

11.   Bailee Goodfellow           17:15

12.   Sara Stewart                      17:17

13.   Nicole Jensen                    17:34

14.   Hannah Skopec                 17:58

15.   Katie Janis                           18:29

16.   Brittany Meints                 18:44

17.   Alison Stephan                  18:51

18.   Kayla Brooks                      18:52

19.   Griffin Reed                       20:11

20.   Brooke Ludvicek               20:12

21.   Paige Engelhardt              20:49

22.   Chelsee Birt                        21:02

23.   Olivia Lofgren                    21:11

24.   Amy McCurdy                   21:13

25.   Ximena Ampuero            21:33

26.   Tiffany Roth                       22:12

27.   Emily Jacobsen                  21:56

28.   Arig Bilal                             22:50

29.   Amberlie Gronewold        24:30

30.   Tasha Scmidt                      24:32

31.   Mackenzie Nielson          25:02

32.   Becca Geissel                     26:17

33.   Zoe Lewis                            27:26

34.   Sam Williams                      27:32

35.   Molly McConnell              27:32

36.   Ciara Boyer                         27:30

37.   Gaelle Nzombo                 27:37

 

July 31st, 2008

West High Wins Large School All Sports Award from Des Moines Register

Iowa City West won the large school division of Registers All-Sports Award, ending a five-year run by West Des Moines Valley, while Davenport Assumption was the runaway winner in the small-school division.

Iowa City West, which won the initial large-school division in 2000, edged Valley by 2.5 points, buoyed largely by its success in spring sports. The Trojans scored 39.5 of their 59 points in the spring, including a state title in girls' track and three runner-up finishes.

"Our goal is not to be a one- or two-sport school, but to be well-rounded," West athletic director Marv Reiland said. "I can't say enough about the kids and the coaches."

Second-place Valley won four state titles - girls' swimming, girls' soccer, boys' golf and softball - and finished well ahead of third-place Bettendorf.

"Valley had a first-class program, and when we try to compete, we try to compete at the same level they do," Reiland said.

 

 

The 3 Time Drake Relays Champion, 2 Time State Champion and 2 Time Nike All-American leaves her mark on West High history graduating this year and going off to compete at Arizona for college. She has been a major part of the success of the West High Track and Field program and set a standard for all her teammates to try and attain. Her drive for perfection kept her training all year round for those moments during the track and field season that will be a part of West High history.

 

 

Tomorrow is the Cedar Rapids Prairie Relays and on Friday is the Divisional Championships at City High.

 

Winners were Micaela Haight in the Shot Put, Courtney Fritz in the Discus, Jessica Gehrke in the Long Jump, and 400, Taylor Fehlberg in the 3000, Chloe Hoagland in the 100, Natalie Mason in the 100m Hurdles, and Nicole Jensen in the 400m hurdles. The Shuttle Hurdle team of Rachel Ascoli, Lizzy Laikhter, Nicole Jensen, and Natalie Mason recorded a victory as well as the Distance Medley team of Maddy Abel, Elizabeth Ebot, Chelsee Birt and Bridget Novak. The 4x100 team of Lauren Sims, Chloe Hoagland, Maddy Abel and Katie Kelley also won beating 2nd place by over a second. The team heads to the Drake Relays this Thursday and then on to the Cedar Rapids Prairie meet on April 29th.

 

 

 

 

 

 

See you then!!!!

 

 

 

Girls Track and Field Winter Conditioning has started!!! We are meeting every Monday, Wednesday and Friday after school at 3:30 in the hallway outside the varsity girlslocker room. If you are planning on going out for Track and Field this spring and are not out for a winter sport please try and get yourself there to get into shape!!!

 

Junior Allison Fick was named the Press Citizen Athlete of the Year for XC this past fall. Allison, completing her first season after having broken her leg during her freshman and sophmore year of XC finished as West High's number 1 runner and placed 26th with a time of 15:11 at the State Championships for the team that finished 5th at state.  

 

 

 

http://www.iatfcc.org/CC%20SR%20Meet%20Results.html

 

 

 

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Head Coach Mike Parker was named an 4A At-Large Coach of the Year for girls Cross Country. The award is voted on by members of the IATC at their annual meeting. Boys Coach Brain Martz was also named an At-Large Coach of the Year for 4A.

 

 

 

Kristi, Anna and Elise were invited to particpate in the Senior All-Star Meet this Saturday in Ames at the Iowa State course. Seniors from all over the state will compete for awards based on region and class. It is quite an honor to have all three seniors participating in this event for West High.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Freshman Alissa Rothman was the high finisher for the 3rd place Fresh/Soph team in a time of 17:04 and Senior Dani Freeman led the JV girls placing 33rd in a time of 18:55.

Kavan Leads USD Women’s Cross Country Team to Third Place Finish at Woody Greeno Invite; Sarah Wickman #2 Runner for USD

9/15/2007

LINCOLN, NEB. – Led by the fourth-place finish of sophomore Ramsey Kavan, The University of South Dakota women’s cross country team finished third at the 2007 Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational meet on Saturday in Lincoln, Neb. The Coyote men’s team was sixth in the team race.

Kavan (Yankton, S.D.) who led for a portion of the race, finished in 21:38.95. She was defeated by two runners from the University of Nebraska and the individual champion Beverly Ramos of Kansas State, who finished in 21:21.85.

The Coyotes, who were ranked seventh in the region this week, had a team total of 109 points and finished third in the college division behind Nebraska Wesleyan with 49 and the University of Nebraska-Kearney with 84. USD freshman Sarah Wickman (Iowa City, Iowa) was 25th in 23:14.85. Other USD runners included: junior Kelsey Maloney (Sioux Falls, S.D.), 29th, 23:19.70; sophomore Heather Kuhlmanmn (Nebraska City, Neb.), 56th, 24:08.55; junior Jessica Lundgren (Truman, Minn.), 72nd, 24:33.90; and junior Allison Duba (Sioux Falls, S.D.), 93rd, 25:10.00.

Next on the schedule for the USD cross country teams is the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn., on Saturday, Sept. 29.

 

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The Women of Troy won the Crimson Division of the Rim Rock Classic on Saturday the 29th by 50 points over 2nd place scoring 57 points. The meet is held at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas on the legendary course developed by former Jay Hawks head track and field and cross coutnry coach Bob Timmons who was also Head Coach Mike Parker's coach in college. Allison Fick won the 4K race with a time of 15:21 for our first individual title at this meet. Nichole Engelhardt was 4th, Anna Murray was 11th, Elise Walz was 19th and Kristi Schuette was 28th for the team in their dominating win.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Women of Troy traveled to Decorah, Iowa for the Luther Invite and took home trophy's in both the Varsity and JV division. Teams from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa participated in the meet. Allison Fick was our leader placing 1st in a time of 15:10. Nichole Engelhardt (2nd), Anna Murray (4th), Elise Walz (8th) all ran great races to finish in the top ten. Whitney Schuette won the JV race in a time of 16:35 a good 30 seconds ahead of the number 2 runner. Alissa Rothman, Vi Tran-Phan, Hannah Skopec, Chelsee Birth and Dani Freeman all placed in the top 10 for the JV team. The JV team won 23-54 and the Varsity team won by 47 points with a team score of 33pts.  A rematch against City High will be on Thursday at the Eastern Iowa Classic at Noelridge Park in Cedar Rapids. You can check out all the results from the Luther Invite at www.fitnesssports.com.

 

 

The Women of Troy broke into the regional rankings as put out by Dyestat and the Harrier magazine for the first time since 2004, holding the number 9 spot after beating City High last week. Teams from Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. The team is also currently ranked 2nd in the state behind Dowling. Allison Fick is ranked 10th, Nichole Engelhardt is ranked 17th and Anna Murray is ranked 25th for the Women of Troy. Check out the Regional rankigns at www.dyestat.com and the State of Iowa rankings at www.ighsau.org.

 

The Women of Troy remain undefeated after winning the Ft. Madison Invite scoring 29 points, beating the 2nd place team Mt. Pleasant by 49 points. Nichole Engelhardt led the way for the varsity girls again placing 3rd in a time of 16:36. The JV team took the first seven spots with Taylor Fehlberg placing 1st with a time of 18:05. The Women of Troy and Trojans also took home the combined team trophy for the meet. The team runs September 15th at the Luther College Invite in Decorah, Iowa.

 

 

At the Cedar Rapids Invite on Tuesday the 6th the girls cross country team beat the defending state champions, City High, 67-74 led by Junior Nichole Engelhardt in 6th place!!!! Allison Fick was 7th, Anna Murray was 12th, Elise Walz was 15th and Kristi Schuette was 27th for the Women of Troy. This is the first time West has beat City since Oct. of 2004 making them undefeated so far this season. The Fresh/Soph team is also undefeated this season thus far winning their division as well, led by Sophomore Whitney Schuette. The teams head to Ft. Madison on the 13th and Luther College on the 15th for more race action.

Iowa City Press-Citizen

August 28, 2007

WEST HIGH

Coach -- Mike Parker (13th season).

Last year's state finish -- Sixth in Class 4A.

Returning letter-winners (3) -- Allison Fick, jr.; Nicole Engelhardt, jr.; Elise Walz, sr.; Kristi Schuette, sr.; Sheila Novak, sr.; Hannah Skopec, so.; Sara Stewart, so.

Outlook -- The Women of Troy are making a fresh start this year. Their sixth-place finish at state last year was the worst of any team under coach Mike Parker, and they lost most of their varsity pack. But Parker is excited.

"I'm having a blast," he said. "With the combination of committed girls and great parents, that's a recipe for success."

Allison Fick won last week's time trial, but the junior has yet to complete a season. She suffered a stress fracture her freshman year and broke her leg in the first race of the season a year ago. Her father, Dan, is a physician as well as a veteran runner himself and has closely supervised her training.

"I know that he has his hand on the pulse of what she can and can't do," Parker said.

Nicole Engelhart and Elise Walz return with state-meet experience, but West will count on a lot of new faces, including senior Anna Murray and junior Jenna Broghamer.

"I don't know if we'll do well the first two or three meets," Parker said. "It's not like years past. But we're looking to be at our best at the end of the year."

 

 

 

The Women of Troy will compete in the Cedar Rapids Prairie Invitational next Tuesday at 5:00 pm.

 

 

 

 

 

The Women of Troy won their 2nd consecutive State Track and Field title scoring 97.5 points the most in state history!!! With a true team effort the team remains unbeaten for two seasons.

11-8-06 Two time State Shot Put Champion Danica Haight signed a National Letter of Intent with the University of Michigan. Danica had a tough decision to make as she was being recruited by the top throwing schools in the country. Danica made visits to Georgia, Nebraska, Kansas and Michigan. A reception was held at West High on November 8th for Danica to celebrate her accomplishments. Danica will be competing for her 3rd straight State Shot Put title this Spring. Congratulations Danica! Go BLUE!

10-29-06 West High placed 6th as a team at the 2006 State Cross Country Meet in Fort Dodge. Senior Sarah Wickman placed 7th to finish one of the most decorated cross country careers in the history of the State of Iowa. Sarah Wickman received 1st team All State honors for the 4th straight year and contiues to hold the 4A meet record. Wickman placed 1st as a freshman, 2nd by 1 second as a sophomore and 1st as a Junior. Wickman has been one of the most successful cross country runners in the history of the State of Iowa. Congratulations to Sarah on an amazing cross country career at West High.

10-19-06 West High took the first three places in the Regional Championship Cross Country Meet to cruise to a 1st place finish. West High's Regional win was their 10th consecutive Regional Championship Title. Sarah Wickman won the individual title winning by over 20 seconds. Nichole Engelhardt placed second and Elise Walz placed a close 3rd. West High ran in strong packs during the course of the race and all 7 runners placed in the top 25. Jordan Stahlecker finished 12th, Shelia Novak placed 14th, Christine Skopec 16th and Kristi Schuette 22nd.  West High now advances to the State Championships in Fort Dodge next Saturday. West will be one of 16 teams fighting to be crowned 4A State Champions.

West recorded numerous personal bests in the JV and Fresh/Soph races as well. Sara Stewart led the Fresh/Soph race with a 3rd place finish followed by Hannah Skopec who placed 8th. The Fresh/Soph team placed 2nd overall. Audrey Keranen lead the JV team with a 5th place finish. This was the last meet for those girls not continuing on to the Regional Championships. West saw great improvements over the course of this year and with such a strong young team looks forward to a great track season and an exciting 2007 cross country season. West will compete in the Regional Championships in Cedar Rapids next Thursday in hopes of earning a spot at the State Championships.

Nichole Engelhardt finished 10th to help West have 3 runners in the top 20. Other West finishers were Jordan Stahlecker 44th, Christine Skopec 49th, Audrey Keranen 53rd and Kristi Schuette 54th. West had a great weekend and enjoyed shopping in downtown Lawrence as well as a Kansas volleyball game. West will compete next Thursday in the MVC Supermeet in Cedar Falls.

Freshman Sara Stewart stepped up as West High's #1 runner in the fresh/soph race. Sara continues to show great improvement and was West High's number 8 runner overall today. Hadiza Sa-Aadu was West High's #1 runner in the JV race.

9-16-06 West ran at the tough Indianola course this Saturday in the Des Moines Roosevelt Invitational. The meet included teams from Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota and Missouri. West placed 6th as a team. West continues to show improvements at each meet. West was led by Sarah Wickman in  7th place. Nichole Engelhardt had a strong finish passing numerous runners and placing 20th. Hannah Skopec stepped in as the 6th runner for the team and had a great race placing 90th. Other finishers for West High were Jordan Stahlecker-28th, Elise Walz-35th, Kristi Schuette-77th and Hadiza Sa-Aadu-91st. West also placed 6th in the JV competition. West was led by Sophomore Natalie Manhica in 39th place. Freshman Sara Stewart ran a great race and placed 52nd. West High's other scorers in the JV race were Mackenzie Nielson-55th, Dani Freeman-56th and Amy McCurdy-57th. West will compete in the Eastern Iowa Classic next Thursday in Dubuque.

9-9-06 The Women of Troy once again showed their desire to improve by placing 2nd at the Luther College Meet this Saturday. Although West High was led by Senior Sarah Wickman who placed 2nd, the star of the day was Sophomore Nichole Engelhardt who placed 8th and dropped almost 3 minutes off her time from last year at this same course. Nichole continues to show tremendous improvement and was West High's #2 runner at this meet.  West's other runners all dropped considerable time off last meet, as well as off last year at this same course. Jordan Stahlecker placed 16th and broke 16 minutes for the first time this year. Elise Walz was just a few seconds behind placing 20th. Kristi Schuette placed 35th, Audrey Keranen 46th and Hadiza Sa-Aadu placed 83rd. All other runners ran in the JV race at this meet. West High's leading JV runner was Junior Dani Freeman who placed 40th. Dani's hard work continues to pay off, she was West High's #8 runner overall this weekend. Freshman Hannah Skopec placed 43rd and Ximena Ampuero placed 60th. West will compete in Fort Madison this coming Thursday and then in Des Moines on Saturday.

9-7-06 The Women of Troy came home with another 4th place finish, but showed great improvement in their 2nd meet of the season. Sarah Wickman placed 5th overall while Elise Walz placed 16th. Rounding out the scoring for West was Sophomore Nichole Engelhardt, 23rd and Jordan Stahlecker 36th.  Natalie Manhica was the top finisher for the West High fresh/soph again placing 42nd. In the JV race Hadiza Sa-Aadu placed 13th and ran fast enough to earn herself on the varsity team for Saturday's meet at Luther College.

8-29-06 The West High girls cross country team competed in their first meet of the season at the Cedar Rapids Prairie Invitational. West finished 4th after suffering a tremendous loss. With about 10 meters left in the race and in 3rd place #1 runner sophomore Allison Fick collapsed to the ground and broke her tibia. With West High's #1 runner unable to complete the race,  West's top 3 finishers were Sarah Wickman 6th place, Nichole Engelhardt, in a tremendous race, 19th place and Jordan Stahlecker 20th place. In the JV race Kristi Schuette was crowned the JV champion and the fresh/soph team was led by Natalie Manhica in 5th place. West's competes again next Thursday in the Cedar Rapids Invitational. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Allison during her recovery.

8-22-06 The Women of Troy got to see their summer work pay off in the 2006 Time Trials at the University of Iowa Course. Sophomore Allison Fick won the time trial.  West High saw many improvements of runners from last year and had impressive performances by many newcomers. One of the most impressive improvements came from Sophomore Nichole Engelhardt who placed 4th in  this years time trial.  West's first meet will be Tuesday, August 29th at the Prairie Invite.

5-21-06 The West High Girls Track & Field team won the Class 4A State Championship Title this weekend in Des Moines. West High and cross town rival City High battled down to the final event to find out who would be crowned State Champions. West High's school record setting 4 x400 relay team put West High's 3rd Track & Field title in the books by placing 2nd in the 4 x 400 meter relay in a school recording setting time of 3:54. That record setting relay team of Hadiza Sa-Aadu, Elise Walz, Kristi Shuette and Lisa Mellecker knew exactly what they had to do in the day's final event to bring the championship trophy back to West. They rose to the occasion and left no doubt in anyone's mind who was the best team in the state this year. This is West's 3rd track & field title and Coach Parker's 8th State Title, 3 in track & field, 5 in cross country.