DCG girls soccer knocks off top-ranked team, track eyes state seats

It was a big week for DCG activities, and a bigger one may be ahead. (Note: Events covered May 3-10)

Girls Soccer

The Mustangs made a big statement on Tuesday with a 2-1 road win over Norwalk, to virtually lock up the No. 1 spot in the state and conference crown. DCG came into the game ranked No. 2 wile the Warriors were ranked at top of the polls. Now Dallas Center stands at 14-0 and just needs two more wins to tie the school wins record when the Mustangs went 16-3 in 2015.

Boys Soccer

Keeping up the momentum from the past week, DCG won a 4-0 road test against Des Moines Christian on Friday thanks to two goals and an assist from Kendall Bickford. 

Girls Track

After taking fourth place as a team at the Little Hawkeye Conference meet, the Mustangs head to the Class 3A state qualifiers on Thursday hosted by ADM. Each event will send the top two finishers to the state meet, and another eight at-large bids will also earn seats based on the remaining top marks throughout the other sites.

For DCG, the best odds lie in the thrower’s circle with Kileigh Lachacz, who ranks first in the discus by over 20 feet and is second in the shot put among competitors convening in Adel. 

A pair of freshmen are also looking to get their first taste of Drake Stadium, as hurdler Mara Redenius holds top-three times in both the 100- and 400-meter hurdles. Maddie Schmitz also comes in with high hopes in the 800-meter run as her personal record slots her second among the slated opponents.

Boys Track

Like the girls team, the boys took fourth place at the conference meet and head to Adel for one last trip as a whole team before a portion look to return to Drake’s blue oval.

While other team members like Aiden Ramsey seem to have a guaranteed path to the state meet after topping the state leaderboards all season in multiple events, there are a couple of tight races to keep an eye on.

In the 200-meter dash, Gavin Todd and Daniel Onwuramaka are slotted third and fourth overall. But all that separates them from that coveted second seed is Winterset’s Logan Fairchild whose PR this season is 22.95 seconds. DCG’s top pair trail that time by just .01 and .02 seconds, making it one of the tightest possible events in the entire state. Onwuramaka is also in a tight race in the 400, but currently holds the top overall time.

Over in the long jump pit, Anthony Glay and John Kitenge are the top-seeded jumpers. Glay holds almost a foot against the rest of the field, but Kiting is in tight competition with the projected third and fourth place finishers. DCG also holds distinct advantages in the shot put and discus where Carter Boley and Gavin Rupp hold the top slots.

Boys Golf

Over at the Little Hawkeye Conference meet, the Mustangs finished in fourth place of nine teams, settling with a score of 330. While the team sat in the middle of the pack, Jacob Runyan had one of his best outings of the year, walking away tied for third with 77 strokes. Jonathan Howard placed eighth at 82 swings.

Girls Golf

Though there’s another week and three events left for the team before the regional round, the Mustangs went through the gauntlet of the conference meet on Monday where they placed second behind Newton on the course in Pella. DCG scored 380 while the Cardinals swung 378.

The big difference came down to Newton’s Ryle Heryford scoring 81 to take gold, while Laura Klaessy (88) and Kaylin Petrak (89) took second and third for DCG, respectively. With Josie Lampe (96) also hanging out at seventh place, the Mustangs may have been just two strokes from a conference title, but were far and away the most consistent.