With one meet remaining before the Drake Relays qualification cutoff, Aplington-Parkersburg Boys Track & Field Coach Mark Haren feels one event in particular has a strong chance of qualifying. Senior Kael Stotler is closing in on qualifying in the shot put.
“Our better events are probably those mid-distance, distance relays, which are awfully tough to get in when you’re going against everybody across the state,” Stotler says. “Our best chance would probably be Kael Stotler in the shot put. I have a feeling he’s probably gonna need to add a foot. He’s physically capable of doing it. It just takes one throw. That that would be probably our number one chance, and I hope he does. It’d be well deserved, as much as he’s worked on his craft.”
Stotler’s best throw happened on Monday at Hampton-Dumont-CAL, where he achieved 52-06.50. The Blue Standard for automatic qualification is 55-6. The field size is 24, and Stotler’s best throw currently ranks 27th in Iowa. The current 24th place throw is 52-10.00, held by Lathan McDaniel of Indianola.
Stotler will have one more opportunity to achieve either the Blue Standard or move into the top 24 Thursday at BCLUW. Results must be entered into Bound by 6:00 a.m. Friday to be considered for qualification.