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A look back at Perry’s sports highlights in 2024

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A look back at Perry’s sports highlights in 2024

Sean Cordy
 |  Special to the Chief

To wrap up the 2024 season, the Perry Chief takes a moment to highlight some of the biggest accomplishments for the Perry Bluejays and Jayettes (all listed items are unranked).

Myers family dominates on the track and cross country course

In May, Lily Myers ran at the state track meet as part of the 1,600-meter relay team, sparking some fresh enthusiasm in the program along with teammates Cate Erickson, Treasure Moore and Taryn Nehring. They placed 23rd overall in their class.

But even more excitement came from within the family as she was joined by her older brother Owen Myers who was in Des Moines to take on the 400-meter hurdles for the second year in a row. 

And for even more excitement just a few months later in October, Lily made the cut for the state cross country meet, making her the first Perry runner to qualify for the state meet in both sports since Jaylene Karolus (who was also a swimming qualifier) four years ago.

Volleyball team has best season in over a decade

With a new coach and a roster that was shorthanded for the first few weeks of the season, the Jayettes rallied together in 2024 to churn out a 16-18 record, the program’s most succesfful season according to the record books since the 2014 season.

The team was led by junior Charity Parnell with 133 kills while senior Gabriella Orellana’s 202 assists and Karagyn Whelchel’s 150 assists were at the top of the list as well.

Boys soccer makes a run for state crown

The Bluejays were just a handful of plays away from reaching the 2024 state title game after a 1-0 contest in the semifinals.

But that season-ending loss was hardly a misstep, as Perry made it further than their previous state appearance in 2022. 

For their efforts, the Bluejays had three players named to the all-state roster: Jacobo Cerna-Gomez (1st team), Sergio Sanchez (2nd) and Omar Jaimes (Honorable Mention.) Of that trio, Cerna-Gomez looks to further build his legacy heading into his junior season after leading the team with 26 goals (12th most in the state in 2024). 

Wrestling teams seat multiple at state meet

Four Perry wrestlers made it to the final draws of the 2024 season, with both the girls and boys programs bringing two apiece.

At the February meet in Coralville, the Jayettes were repped by Mercedes Ponce and Julie Maylum. Both were able to win at least one match, with Ponce going 1-2 while Maylum went 2-2. So far this season they are 18-2 and 21-2, respectively, looking to punch their tickets again.

For the Bluejays, Kain Killmer and Keegan Snyder each capped their senior years with appearances at the the Wells Fargo Arena. It was the first time Perry had multiple qualifiers since the 2021 season. Not only did they qualify but they both earned podium finishes, as Killmer finished in fifth place while Snyder placed eighth in his class.

Mahler-Moreno completes four-year run for swim team

Right out of the gate in the first meet of the season, Quin Mahler-Moreno was guaranteed a slot at the state swim meet after eclipsing an automatic qualifying time. And she’d qualify in three more events throughout the course of the season along with bolstering two relay teams. 

At the end of the day, that made it four years in a row that Mahler-Moreno made it to the final stage of the season — a feat no other Perry swimmer had ever accomplished. And this final go-around marked a peak performance, with the outbound University of South Dakota swimmer setting two school records and placing third in the 500-yard freestyle for the program’s best-ever finish.

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