Aaron Stockstell had a pretty good start in track and field, breaking the Iowa City elementary long jump record, held by fellow Hall of Famer Tim Dwight, by jumping 15’ 6” in 5th grade. He jumped 17 feet in 6th grade but didn’t compete again until open enrolling to Mid Prairie in 8th grade.
Once Aaron Stockstell arrived in Wellman and began wearing the black and gold of the Golden Hawks, it became quite apparent that the scrawny little new kid was something special.
When track practice started his freshman year, Aaron was quick to let coach Steve Hollan know that he was a 100-200 guy, and racing at a longer distance was out of the question.
That season the Golden Hawks 1600 medley relay was having trouble getting a time fastest enough to qualify for the Drake Relays so Coach Hollan took his freshman ace aside and asked him to bump up to the 400 for the medley. NO WAY was the immediate answer. Hollan asked him to think it over and they could talk about it the next day. The next morning, Aaron found his coach and told him he would try it once. He ran 50 flat on the medley that night.
A week or so later the medley was still on the bubble, and Hollan knew that if they were going to run on the Blue Oval, Stockstell had to be the anchor. He asked, then received the same song and dance. 800 meters was too long. Couldn’t do it, wouldn’t do it. Coach Hollan once again told him to sleep on it and they would talk tomorrow. The next morning Aaron found his coach and told him he would give the 800 leg a try, but don’t count on him doing it too often. He split 1:59 that night, and the rest as they say is history.
Aaron Stockstell would go from being strictly a 100-200 guy, to being one of the best 400-800 combo guys this state has ever seen.
He loved to visit the uniform closet and tried to wear a different uniform every time he raced. No matter what he was he wearing, he raced fast.
His 11 state championships include seven individual wins and four relay titles. He won the 400 meters three times, the 800 meters three times and the 200 meters once. In 2008 he was the first in state meet history to win the combination of the 200, 400 and 800. He also anchored the 1600 medley to gold that weekend, leading the Golden Hawks to the class 2A team title.
He won state meet gold as part of the distance medley relay three times, all three coming out of the slow section, and the 4×400 meter relay once.
This 15-6 5th grade long jumper turned out to be a memory maker on the track. He holds the states All Time best mark in the 800 at 1:50.18. He is #6 in the 400 with his 47.67. He is on the 200 list with his PR of 21.96 The Golden Hawks Drake Relays and state champion 1600 Medley from 2008, still holds the 2A state meet record of 3:26.16.
I can tell you that not many 21.96 200 meter guys run cross country. But this one did and he did it well, placing 15th in the 2006 state meet and 16th in 2007.
Upon graduating from Mid Prairie, Aaron headed to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to run for the Crimson Tide. Despite earning All Conference honors in the always tough SEC, Stockstell realized he was too far away from his family and decided to come back home and finish his career at UNI. As a Panther, Aaron ran on 2 Missouri Valley Champion 4×4 teams and was a 2 time conference medalist in the 800.
I asked Coach Hollan what, if anything, made Aaron special besides his amazing talent on the track. Coach was quick to reply that Aaron was a great teammate and leader. Always humble and true to the ways his Mother raised him.
Aaron and his wife Caitlin along with their children Shay and AJ, live in South Bend, Indiana where they own and operate Stockstell Services, a landscaping and snow removal business.