GOING 4 GOLD: Area athletes compete at state track meet

Spirit Lake, Okoboji and Harris-Lake Park track athletes combined to bring home 26 medals — including four golds and two silvers — from the 2024 Iowa High School State Track & Field Championships held Thursday-Saturday, May 16-18 at Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines.

The Spirit Lake boys track team earned a runner-up team finish, the Spirit Lake girls placed fourth and the Okoboji boys placed seventh in Class 2A. Spirit Lake's Ethan Stecker won the 110-meter high hurdles title in 14.3 seconds. Okoboji's boys 4x800-meter relay team won its second consecutive state championship and broke the state meet record with a time of 7 minutes, 49.87 seconds. Spirit Lake's Fran Travis won the girls discus title with her throw of 140 feet 5 inches. Okoboji's girls 4x100-meter relay team won a state championship in a state meet record time of 48.97 seconds. (Photos by Matt Heinrichs)