On a chilly, blustery night, many members of the girls track team set their sights on qualifying for The Drake Relays later this month. The team worked hard to prepare for The Forwald-Coleman Relays, in hopes of opening many doors for the rest of the season.

“The more we can stay out of the comfort zone and get used to it, the faster we can become,” co-coach Joe Graf said.

Thursday night, the girls team placed second at Forwald by a narrow margin of 12 points, just behind Iowa City West. Top placers included Ellen Carman ‘14, finishing second in the 3000 meter run, the distance medley team of Maddie Deprenger ‘16, Mickey Hansche ‘13 Erin Danielson ‘13, Morgan Sammons ‘14 also earning second place, and the 800 sprint medley of Hevan Anderson ‘15 , Hazel Crew ‘15, Sara Blowers ‘15, and Danielson, placing third.

“The team dynamic is different, but I think it is really good,” Erin Danielson ‘13 said. “The group that we lost last year was kind of calm, and the freshman class we brought in is a little more energized. [That] is not a bad thing, but it is definitely different.”

Thursday night’s meet was the last chance for any individuals or teams to qualify for the Drake Relays on April 25-27. Among the multiple individuals qualifying were Sarah Plock ‘15 placing first in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:07.09. Other qualifiers include Claire Crew ‘13 in the 200 meter dash, Plock in the 400 meter dash, and Carman in the 3000.

“We are right where we need to be as far as accomplishing our goals by the end of the season,” Coach Graf said.

With a second place finish marked in the books, the team is looking at the many positive outcomes that came out of the meet. They hope by tweaking a few things, they will be in good position to place well at Drake and the state tournament later this season.

“At Forwald, everything comes together to prepare for Drake and State,” said Erin Danielson.