At the state high school track meet Davenport Central senior Dennis Hammell won the boys class 4A 400 meter hurdles in a time of 52-point-89 seconds. He held of the challenge of second place finished Matt Clark of Ames. Hammell says he didn’t know he was going to be pushed so hard, but he says he was able to run a great time.Hammell and his Central teammates will be making a run at the 4A team title this weekend. He says he thinks he has a good chance.Iowa City West sophomore Victor Hall won the boys class 4A 400-meter dash. He says it felt good and after the guy behind him gave up, it gave him an extra kick.West is in the thick of a close team chase in 4A and Hall says that helps add motivation. Ellen Ries from North Linn captured her 11th state championship. Ries won the class 1A 15-hundred meters and in the process broke the record she set one year ago. She says it wasn’t really the plan she had, but she says it turned out okay. She says the fan support helped. Ries says the conditions were perfect for a fast time.
