Area 1A distance runners improve seed, time

DES MOINES — Both Riceville’s Juliana Droll and St. Ansgar’s Riley Witt finished above expectations.

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Each finished higher than their seed and ran a PR at the Class 1A state 3,000 and 3,200, respectively, today (Thursday, May 20).

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Droll was 12th, finishing two spots above her 14th seed and busted her personal best by nine seconds (11:32.80).

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“I’m happy, it’s good,” Droll said. “I got a PR, so that was my goal.

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“It was really different. It actually felt better (to run in the rain).”

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Witt ran 9:53.47, a little more than three seconds better than his personal best.

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“It was fun,” Witt said. “It was a fun atmosphere coming down here with all the people. It was wet, soggy, but didn’t mind it.

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“I wish it were nicer so we could get a real good time in, but I still PR’ed. I would have been happy with anything fifth above, but I’m glad I got that fourth, boosted confidence going into next year. This isn’t my race, but I still like running in it.”