Union junior Michael Reel pictured Saturday, May 23, during the medals ceremony for the boys shot put para-ambulatory event at the 2026 Iowa High School Track & Field Championships in Des Moines. Reel took home the state title that morning with a personal best throw of 30 feet, 1 inch. PHOTO BY LEVI HADACHEK/UNION SCHOOLS

DES MOINES – The Union Knights blazed a truly memorable path across Drake Stadium’s Blue Oval during the 2026 Iowa High School Track & Field Championships May 21-23, bringing home an individual state title, two medals, and four new personal records while also breaking two school records to continue the program’s tradition of excellence in Des Moines.

Junior Michael Reel won the boys shot put para-ambulatory event, earning a state title with his personal record throw of 30 feet, 1 inch. He defeated Alburnett’s Cameron McGraw (29-3.25) and Monticello’s Eli Santa (18-5.25) for the championship.

The Knights girls 4×400-meter relay team of sophomore Haylee Hegdahl, freshman Paige Pipho, sophomore Chloe Sadler, and senior anchor Brynn Albertsen also medaled at state. The quartet set a new school record in the Class 2A preliminaries with their sixth-place finish of 4 minutes, 3.43 seconds – breaking their own record (4:05.43) set May 14 at the 2A district meet in Hudson in which they broke the school record of 4:07.2 set way back in 1991.

In the 4×400 state finals on Saturday, May 23, Hegdahl, Pipho, Sadler, and Albertsen ran their way to an eighth-place finish with a time of 4:05.33 for medalist honors.

Individually on Saturday, Albertsen broke Union’s 800-meter run school record, placing 13th in the Class 2A girls race with a time of 2 minutes, 21.77 seconds for a new personal record. Her time broke the school record set in 2002 by a healthy 1.64 seconds. Albertsen is now the only female Union athlete to hold individually or as part of a relay team four current track and field records. Last season, she helped set the 4×800 record of 9:56.30. At districts earlier this month, she anchored Union’s distance medley alongside Hegdahl, Sadler, and Pipho – the quartet broke the record set in 2000 (4:18.76) with a finish of 4:16.84.

Knights senior distance runner Brynn Albertsen competes in the Class 2A girls 800-meter run, Saturday, May 23, at Drake Stadium in Des Moines during the 2026 state track meet. Albertsen not only set a PR during the race, she also broke Union’s school record with her finish of 2:21.77. NORTH TAMA TELEGRAPH PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

Albertsen told the newspaper the end of her track career – she does not have plans to compete at the collegiate level – has been quite bittersweet.

“Track is truly one of the hardest sports mentally and physically,” she said in a text message exchange. “The highs and lows have shaped me into the person I am today, and has helped me learn how to overcome adversity and not only work for my individual goals, but for my team. The most special part of track, for me, was working together as a relay to achieve our common goal. At the start of this season, my distance medley team and I talked about how the school record was attainable for us and it was so exciting each meet to slowly shave time off our previous best and finally break the record at the district meet. It was pure joy from all of us because we all gave it everything we had.”

“At the state meet we were seeded high in the distance medley and the 4×400, and we really wanted to bring home two medals. Although the distance medley came just short of a state medal by about two seconds, we gave it all we had and battled against some amazing teams and competition. For the 4×400, we had to break our previous record to make it into the final, which goes to show how competitive and great Iowa girls running is. Although the 4×400 final didn’t go exactly how we had hoped, it was still awesome to bring back a medal!”

Albertsen also commented on breaking the open-8 school record – a goal she has been steadily working toward the last four years.

“I was able to break it by almost two seconds and I was filled with emotions as it was my last 800. I came about two seconds short of a medal placement, but I gave it all I had on the day, and my coaches played the biggest role in breaking that record! My coaches past and present believed in me no matter what, and knew I had what it took to break the record.”

PHOTO COURTESY CJ EILERS/ENTERPRISE MEDIA

“Overall, I am happy to have four school records leaving high school. The memories, coaches, and teammates have played a huge role in my life and it has been an honor to represent Union.”

Also setting a personal record at the state championships, Union freshman Jace Sorensen competed in the Class 2A boys high jump with his leap of 6 feet, 1 inch. He placed 10th in the event behind a three-way tie for seventh.

Sorensen’s teammate, senior Ethan Winnike placed 18th with a jump of 5-11.

In the 2A girls 400-meter hurdles, Pipho was ninth with a time of 1:07.94 – just missing out on a medal behind Sioux Central senior Marley Madsen who finished in 1:07.92.

Also at state for Union, the boys’ 4×800-meter relay team of Jackson Youngblut, Stratton Luke, Cameron Mullen, and Sawyer Spence finished 12th (8:17.52); the girls’ distance medley relay team of Hegdahl, Sadler, Pipho, and Albertsen finished 13th (4:17.67); the boys’ sprint medley of Garrett Kaalberg, Kolton O’Connor, Mays Weber, and Luke Winkelpleck finished 20th (1:37.51); the boys’ 4×200-meter relay (Kaalberg, O’Connor, Weber, Winkelpleck) also finished 20th (1:32.77); and senior Colton Wenszell finished 22nd in the boys 400-meter dash with a time of 52.19 seconds.

From left, Union runners Garrett Kaalberg, Kolton O’Connor, Mays Weber, and Luke Winkelpleck pictured Friday, May 22, at Drake Stadium in Des Moines during the 2026 Iowa High School Track & Field Championships. The quartet qualified for state in both the Class 2A boys sprint medley and 4x200-meter relay races. PHOTO BY LEVI HADACHEK/UNION SCHOOLS

In the 2A shuttle hurdle preliminaries, Union’s girls (Finley Keegan, Pipho, Caitlyn Schneider, Reese Anderson) finished 14th with a season best of 1:09.99, while Union’s boys (Grady Anderson, Bryson DeWinter, Luke, O’Connor) came in 17th with 1:04.31.

In the Class 2A boys 4×400-meter relay preliminaries, Union suffered a disqualification due to a lane infraction.

Missing from Union’s state-qualifier squad this year was senior sprinter Levi Hadachek who suffered what turned out to be a season-ending hamstring injury April 9 while competing at Hudson.

In 2025, Hadachek qualified for state in the 2A boys 100-meter dash where he placed seventh in the finals (11.10) and as the anchor of both the boys 4×200- and 4×100-meter relay teams.

While he was unable to compete alongside his teammates on the Blue Oval this year, Hadachek was on the sidelines all week, cheering them on as the team’s photographer.

Knights freshman Paige Pipho takes off from the first exchange in the Class 2A girls 4x400-meter relay finals on Saturday, May 23, at Drake Stadium in Des Moines. Also pictured, teammate Haylee Hegdahl (left). After setting a new school record in the preliminaries on Friday, the Knights finished eighth in the finals to earn medalist honors. NORTH TAMA TELEGRAPH PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

The Union Knights girls distance medley and 4x400-meter relay team of (l-r) Chloe Sadler, Brynn Albertsen, Paige Pipho, and Haylee Hegdahl pictured Friday, May 22, during the 2026 Iowa High School Track & Field Championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines. PHOTO COURTESY MELISSA ALBERTSEN

The Union Knights girls distance medley and 4x400-meter relay team of (l-r) Haylee Hegdahl, Paige Pipho, Chloe Sadler, and Brynn Albertsen pictured Friday, May 22, during the 2026 Iowa High School Track & Field Championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines. PHOTO BY LEVI HADACHEK/UNION SCHOOLS