PHOTO BY REBECCA LYN DAVIS - Senior Ruby Parson competes as the first leg of the Knights girls shuttle hurdle relay team May 15 in Cresco. Her team earned the final at-large state bid in the event after taking third with a time of 1:11.64. Head Coach Justin Parson, Ruby’s dad, described the qualification as “the biggest upset I have ever seen us pull off in my many years of coaching.”

CRESCO – Multiple Union athletes from both the boys and girls squads earned state berths on Thursday, May 15, during the Class 2A district meet hosted by Crestwood in Creso including members of nine different Knights relay teams.

“The night started out amazing,” boys head coach Scott Denner told the newspaper in an email following the event, “with senior Eric Neipert [setting a personal record] in the discus by over 15 feet and setting the new school record (162 feet, five inches) with the third best throw in the entire state. Senior Justice Luke followed shortly after by qualifying for the high jump.”

After tying for first in the high jump with Crestwood junior Luke Drtina, Luke qualified again for the 2025 Iowa High School Track & Field Championships by taking silver in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.80 seconds. In Class 2A, the top-2 in each event plus the next eight best district performances statewide advance to Des Moines.

Another personal record (8:20.74) was set that evening by the 4X800 relay team of Brayden Bohnsack, Cooper Davis, Jackson Youngblut, and anchor Sawyer Spence who crossed the finish line in second place and only a fraction of a second behind Denver.

“All four kids had great runs,” Denner said, “anchored with a gutty performance by [Spence] passing a guy on the home stretch.”

PHOTO BY REBECCA LYN DAVIS - The Union boys 4X800 relay team including (from left) Brayden Bohnsack, Sawyer Spence, Cooper Davis, and Jackson Youngblut displaying their digital state “tickets” after qualifying for the 2025 Iowa High School Track & Field Championships during the Class 2A district meet in Cresco on May 15. The team set a personal record that evening (8:20.74), taking silver in the event.

Union boys’ final automatic state qualifier was the 4X100 relay team of Evan Hanus, Trevor Clark, Garrett Kaalberg, and anchor Levi Hadachek which set a new school record at Cresco with a second-place finish of 43.39 seconds – fourth fastest time in the state that evening.

The following day, at-large bids for state were earned by Hadachek in the 100-meter dash, the 4X200 team (Hanus, Clark, Luke Winkelpleck, Hadachek), the 4X400 team (Winkelpleck, Caden Sorensen, Jase Loveless, Spence), the distance medley team (Kaalberg, Winkelpleck, Sorensen, Spence), and junior Ethan Winnike who cleared six feet in the high jump at Cresco thereby earning himself a 22nd state seed (out of 24 competitors).

“It was a night filled with a ton of emotion. Lots of joy and some heartache. The highlight of the night was simply watching our boys cheer each other on, and lift each other up!” Denner said to end his comments.

Union girls

Four Union girls plus members of two relay teams earned automatic state bids at Cresco Thursday evening including senior Amilia ‘Millie’ Condon who captured district gold in the 3,000-meter run (10:50.57), finishing a full five seconds ahead of second-place Scarlett Byrnes of Osage.

PHOTO BY REBECCA LYN DAVIS - Knights senior distance runner Amilia ‘Millie’ Condon pictured with her state-qualifier tickets. Condon qualified in both the 1,500- and 3,000-meter runs, and as a member of the girls’ 4X800 and distance medley relay teams.

Knights senior Kate Carlson qualified in the 400-meter dash (1:02.32), finishing a fraction of a second between the champion and the third-place finisher.

Despite battling recent injury, senior Lily Lorenzen also earned a state berth with her second place triumph in the high jump, leaping 4 feet, 10 inches amidst intense winds.

Sophomore Taylen Smith, also battling injury this season, placed second in the long jump (16 feet, 8.25 inches) for her state berth.

Both the 4X800 relay team of Brynn Albertsen, Carlson, Lorenzen, and Condon (10:17.44) and the distance medley team of Bianca Grimm, Ruby Parson, Chloe Sadler, and Condon (4:28.41) earned silver finishes to round out Union’s automatic state qualifiers.

The next day, two more of Union’s relay teams were granted state berths including the 4X400 (Carlson, Brynn Albertsen, Chloe Sadler, Katie Jackson) and the 4X100 shuttle hurdle (Parson, Caitlyn Schneider, Reese Andersen, Mara Tudor) – both finished third at Cresco.

PHOTO BY REBECCA LYN DAVIS

Condon’s third-place finish in the 1,500-meter run (5:06.74) also earned an additional state berth.

When contacted by the newspaper via email Friday afternoon, girls head coach Justin Parson said he could not “seem to wipe the smile off my face today.”

“I think our girls answered the challenge I put in front of them [at districts],” he said. “We used [Coach] Herb Brooks’ speech in [the 2004 film] ‘Miracle’ to tell them that ‘Great moments are born from great opportunity.’ And that’s what we said our girls had in front of them – an opportunity. I then shared the story of ‘The Little Engine That Could’ to get them to believe they could do it. They battled adversity with the wind and went out and shined.”

Parson said he was not surprised that his distance runners qualified for state after all the work he put them through, particularly Condon. He anticipates the 4X800 will break another school record on the Blue Oval in Des Moines this week. The shuttle hurdle team, however, was a different story.

“I truly believe my shuttle is the biggest upset I have ever seen us pull off in my many years of coaching. Super proud moment as my daughter [Ruby Parson] is part of that team, making state for the first time as a senior. Likewise, this is the first [distance medley] I have ever taken to state, so just another amazing performance.”

PHOTO BY REBECCA LYN DAVIS - Knights senior Kate Carlson runs the second leg of Union girls' 4x800 relay.

He was also particularly proud of senior Kate Carlson’ performance in the 400 and corresponding relay.

“Kate may be the strongest, most reliable 400 runner I have. You always know what you get when she goes out to run her big lap. I made the statement that our 4X400 was going to state at our first Hudson meet. I think the girls thought I was crazy, but here we are rising up to expectations.”

The 4X400 team’s qualification was particularly stunning in light of the recurring injury junior Brynn Albertsen has been dealing with off and on since cross country season and which struck again with a vengeance during the 800-meter run.

“She wanted that second place 800 spot so bad,” her mother Melissa Albertsen told the newspaper on Friday. “She was neck and neck with [Oelwein’s Ashlyn Sauser] and in the last 40 meters we knew something was wrong. It was like she couldn’t move and was going in slow motion. Her legs just gave out. She got across and got sixth. Collapsed and had to get a ride back to camp on gator.”

Somehow, against all odds, Albertsen mustered the strength and mental fortitude to run the 4X400 only an hour later which only added to Union’s incredible night.

PHOTO BY REBECCA LYN DAVIS - Knights junior Brynn Albertsen runs the first leg of Union girls' 4x800 relay on May 15 in Cresco.

“In all my years of coaching track, last night may have been the most satisfying district night I have been a part of,” Parson continued. “Just super proud of this group of overachievers. Everyone that made it in an event has been amazing as a leader, teammate, and fine representative of our best kids at Union.”

The 2025 Iowa High School Track & Field Championships take place this week (May 22-24) at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

PHOTO BY REBECCA LYN DAVIS - Knights junior Levi Hadachek, left, powers his way over the finish line in the boys 100-meter dash at the 2A state-qualifying meet in Creso on May 15. Also pictured, New Hampton’s Beau Serie (center) and fellow Union teammate Mays Weber. Hadacheck took bronze in the event with a finish of 11:37, earning a state berth the following day as one of eight at-large qualifiers.

PHOTO BY REBECCA LYN DAVIS

PHOTO BY REBECCA LYN DAVIS

PHOTO BY REBECCA LYN DAVIS - Union senior Justice Luke competes in the boys shuttle hurdle relay at the Class 2A district meet in Cresco on May 15. He qualified for state in two events including the 110-meter hurdles and the high jump.