Pirates Deliver Historic Performance at State Qualifier Meet, Qualify 8 Events to State

by Blaire Puls

The Hudson Pirates turned in one of the most remarkable performances in recent program history at the Class  2A State Qualifying Track & Field Meet hosted in Hudson on May 14, overcoming stacked fields with grit,  determination and record-breaking success. 

Competing with 15 athletes, Hudson placed fourth out of 12 teams with 66 points — a massive improvement  from last season’s ninth-place finish and 36 points. The Pirates produced an unforgettable night that included  eight state-qualifying events, two school records, three gold medals, three silver medals, five bronze medals and  14 personal records. 

Under Iowa’s state qualifying format, the top two finishers in each event automatically advance to the state  meet, while the next eight fastest times or best marks across all eight Class 2A qualifying sites earn at-large  bids. Hudson’s meet proved to be one of the strongest qualifiers in the state, producing numerous at-large  performances across multiple events, including seven in the 4x400 relay and five in eight other events. 

Leading the charge for the Pirates was Carter Swanson, who qualified for state in all four of his para ambulatory  events. Swanson captured a district championship in the 400-meter dash while adding runner-up finishes in the  100, 200 and 800. He also recorded a season-best time in the 100 and personal records in the 200, 400 and 800. 

Hudson’s sprint corps also delivered a historic night. 

Drake Griffin earned a district title in the long jump to automatically qualify for state while also placing third in  the 100-meter dash. Griffin was also a key part of two record-breaking relay teams. 

The Pirates’ 4x100-meter relay team of Hunter Coulson, Drake Griffin, Jackson Nesteby and Owen Bell  repeated as district champions while shattering the school record with a time of 43.03 seconds, breaking the  previous mark of 43.5 set in 2010. 

The same quartet also qualified for state in the sprint medley relay after placing third with another school-record  performance. The group lowered the record it established just one week earlier at the conference meet. 

Bell added an at-large state bid in the open 400-meter dash after running a personal-record time and narrowly  missing the school record by just .01 seconds. He also placed third in the 200-meter dash and ran his first-ever  sub-50-second 400 split on the sprint medley relay anchor leg. 

Relay alternates for the state-qualifying teams include Liam Rhymer, Rylan Dunbar, Payton Bishop and Cooper  Hamer. All nine Hudson state qualifiers are expected back next season. 

Hudson also received several strong scoring performances throughout the meet. Grady Moseley finished third in  the shot put, narrowly missing his personal best, while Alston Loeb placed eighth in the event with a massive  personal record despite competing in only his fourth meet back this spring. 

Nesteby added a sixth-place finish in the long jump, Coulson placed fourth in the 100-meter dash, Rhymer  finished seventh in the 400, and Dunbar took seventh in the 110-meter hurdles. 

The Pirates’ 4x800 relay team of Colten Jensen, Casey Greiman, Liam Rhymer and Payton Bishop nearly  earned a state berth after dropping another seven seconds from its previous best time. The group placed sixth  overall, with Jensen and Rhymer each recording impressive four-second personal records.

Just outside the scoring column in ninth place were Hudson’s distance medley relay team of Dunbar, Cooper  Steele, Hamer and Greiman; the 4x200 relay team of Steele, Greiman, Brady Greiman and Hamer; and the  4x400 relay team of Rhymer, Bishop, Dunbar and Hamer. 

Additional personal records came from Hamer in a 400-meter split and freshman Alik Dodge, who cut nine  seconds off his 1600-meter time. Dodge has emerged as a promising young distance runner this season,  embracing the challenge of distance events and continuing to make major strides throughout the spring. 

With eight events and nine athletes headed to the state meet, Hudson now turns its attention to the famed Blue  Oval in Des Moines, where the Pirates will look to continue a season filled with resilience, heart and historic  performances. 

State Qualifying Meet Results: Team: 4th (66 points)  

Long Jump Drake Griffin 1st 21-10.25, Jackson Nesteby 6th 19-6.5; High Jump Cooper Hamer 10th 5-4; Shot Put Grady  Moseley 3rd 44-4, Alston Loeb 8th 42-10.25; Discus A. Loeb 17th 102-4, G. Moseley 18th 99-0; Sprint Medley 3rd 1:35.56  (Hunter Coulson, J. Nesteby, D. Griffin, Owen Bell); 3200 Alik Dodge 12th 11:41.24; 4x800 6th 8:38.35 (Colten Jensen,  Casey Greiman, Liam Rhymer, Payton Bishop); 100 D. Griffin 3rd 11.62, H. Coulson 4th 12.19; Distance Medley 9th  4:05.43 (Rylan Dunbar, Cooper Steele, C. Hamer, C. Greiman); 400 O. Bell 3rd 50.44, L. Rhymer 7th 54.06; 4x200 9th  1:41.88 (C. Steele, C. Greiman, B. Greiman, C. Hamer); 110 High Hurdles R. Dunbar 7th 16.6; 800 P. Bishop 14th  2:28.87, C. Jensen 16th 2:35.78; 200 O. Bell 3rd 23.07, B. Greiman 20th 26.69; 1600 A. Dodge 12th 5:05.07; 4x100 1st  43.03 (H. Coulson, D. Griffin, J. Nesteby, O. Bell); 4x400 9th 3:48.79 (L. Rhymer, P. Bishop, R. Dunbar, C. Hamer); 100m  Para Ambulatory Carter Swanson 2nd 15.07; 200m Para Ambulatory C. Swanson 2nd 31.24; 400m Para Ambulatory C.  Swanson 1st 1:11.7; 800m Para Ambulatory C. Swanson 2nd 2:55.25