The annual Demon Relays at Case Field in Washington showcased some of the area’s top track and field athletes, and the Mid-Prairie girls seized their opportunity. The Golden Hawks won the team championship with a score of 130 points, eight better than second-place Prairie of Cedar Rapids. Junior Danielle Hostetler built on her state-ranked status in distance races by winning the 1,500-meter run in four minutes and 52.66 seconds and taking the 3,000 meters in 10:27. Classmate Abby Fleming was not far behind as the runner-up in the 3,000 and fourth place in the 1,500.

Mid-Prairie also won the girls’ 800-meter sprint medley, as the team of freshman Jovi Evans and seniors Tabitha Evans, Amara Jones and Madeline Schrader ran a blazing time of nearly 1:54. The same team would take third in the 4-by-100, while Tabitha Evans was swapped out for sophomore Dakota Mitchell in a second-place finish in the 4-by-200. Golden Hawk junior Emma Lueck was runner-up in the long jump, while Tabitha Evans took second in the 200 and third in the 100.

Hostetler and Schrader joined junior Greta Sieren and freshman Hannah Rodgers to take second in the 4-by-400, and Jones, freshman Sophie Miller and Olivian and Emily Schlabach were third in the shuttle hurdles relay. Senior Ella Gronewald’s third-place finish in the high jump was joined by sophomore Dessa Poll taking fourth in the discus toss. Mid-Prairie also had a fourth-place finish in the distance medley.

Washington would end up fourth in the girls’ team standings on their home track. The Demons’ best individual finish came from 800-meter champion Iris Dahl. The freshman won the race in 2:27 and ran a leg with senior Grace Voss and sophomores Kendall Hinrichsen and Lauren Horak on a 4-by-800 relay that finished second. Dahl, Voss and Hinrichsen linked up with sophomore Eden Levetzow to take third in the 4-by-400, while Hinrichsen joined freshmen Leighton Salazar, Leighton Messinger and Ryen Pepper to finish second in the shuttle hurdles.

Voss was second in the high jump with a personal-best 5’2″ and also finished third in the 400 meters. Messinger was third in the 100 hurdles and fourth in the high jump, while Washington senior Kadence Howell was the runner-up in the discus.

The Demons were third in the boys’ team competition thanks partly to a big night from Ethan Patterson. The senior won the 100-meter dash in 11.65 seconds and ran legs with junior Alec Ulin and seniors Aidan Ulin and Jude Brown on the 4-by-200 and 800 medley teams that each finished second. Junior Micah Rees was the champion in both the 1,600 and the 3,200 meters, finishing the latter in just under 10 minutes and the former in 4:37, while Washington senior Brayden Hartman hit 56 feet even to win the shot put.

Washington also got a third-place finish from Alec Ulin in the 200 and fourth-place efforts from sophomore Tyler Alderton in the 3,200 and sophomore Morgan Mason in the 110 hurdles. Aiden Ulin joined fellow seniors Austin Rebling, James Strabala and Tayven Stuart to take third in the shuttle hurdles, while senior Drew Horak, sophomore Logan McDole and freshman Andrew Rees and Sawyer Tschantz were fourth in the 4-by-800.

The Mid-Prairie boys earned a tie for fifth in team scoring, with sophomore Jayse Yoder’s victory in the 800 meters that clocked in at 2:04 leading the way. Golden Hawk senior Cain Brown was the champion in the long jump and the runner-up in the 400 hurdles. Senior Blake Creed finished third in the 800, as did sophomore Emmett Swartzentruber in the 1,600 and Brown in the 100.

Senior Kaden Meader’s fourth-place finish in the 400 hurdles and sophomore Jayden Stafford setting meet records in all three wheelchair races rounded out the top individual performances for the Golden Hawks. Yoder, Swartzentruber, Creed and sophomore Preston Yutzy had the best relay finish for Mid-Prairie by taking second in the 4-by-800, while Yoder, Creed and Meader teamed with freshman Hudson Ehrenfelt to take fourth in the 4-by-400.