Meskwaki junior Dorothy Bear, left, enters the third turn during the Class 1A girls’ 400-meter hurdles event on Friday, May 22, at the state meet in Des Moines. PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

DES MOINES — Junior Dorothy Bear and freshman Bree Scabbyrobe represented the Meskwaki Settlement School in great fashion at the 2026 state track and field meet. Competing in Des Moines last week, the pair both ran personal-best times in their respective races.

Scabbyrobe took to the track first on Thursday, May 21, to compete in the open 400. She ran a personal-best time of 1:02.25 to come in 21st place in Class 1A. Junior Ada Hansen of CAM, Anita won the race with a time of 56.90. The race concluded a remarkable freshman year for Scabbyrobe, who qualified for state both in cross country and track.

Bear competed in the 400 hurdles on Friday, May 22. Running a personal-best time of 1:08.58, the junior finished in 13th place in Class 1A. She was just over one second away from medaling in the event, which goes to the top eight finishers. Hansen of CAM, Anita was the repeat winner in this event, as well, with a time of 1:01.28.

At the conclusion of the state meet, the season came to a close for the MSS girls track and field team. Looking back on the season, Head Coach Dylan Kalinay noted that, though the team was not large in numbers, the girls had a very successful season.

“We didn’t have a big squad this year — we only had six girls. But they were a very fun group and it has been awesome to see them grow throughout the year,” Kalinay said.

When asked about a highlight of the season, Kalinay noted how many girls improved their personal-best times, and the eye-opening amount of school-records that were set.

“It was great seeing the school records broken in the 100 hurdles, 400 hurdles, 400, 800, 4×100, and sprint medley relay.”

To summarize the season, Kalinay praised the mindset and effort of those on the team.

“Each and every one of them has improved throughout the year in terms of attitude and work ethic.”