Note: Brooke (Dinsdale) Schupbach and Blaire (Dinsdale) Puls were inducted at the same time as cherished teammate Sara (Stoakes) Kvidera. This induction speech is also displayed under their names.
When it comes to high school track teams in small-town Iowa, we have been blessed to watch some very good ones. Many times, these teams win titles with depth plus have that one individual they can count on scoring well in 3-4 events.
At North Tama, just over 10 years ago, Coach Kent Hanser put girls’ teams on the track that were talented, plus had three of the best individuals our state has ever produced. Regardless of class or gender.
What Sara Stoakes and the Dinsdale twins provided Iowa high school track and field fans from 2005 to 2009 was nothing short of special.
They led the RedHawks to 4 consecutive class 1A state track and field titles beginning in 2006 after finishing 3rd in 2005. The first came when the Twins were sophomores and Sara was a freshman. That year this talented trio accounted for 6 event titles, with Brooke winning 4. In 2007 they led the team to crown number 2 with Blaire leading the way, winning 4 golds.
Sara won 4 times in 2008, the final season the Twins would wear the red singlets of North Tama. They scored 110 team points which stood as the best ever state meet score for Iowa girls OR boys until the Waukee girls put up 116 in 2017 and 122 last spring.
2009 was a special season. As special as they come. The Twins have gone, now making things happen at Nebraska, and it was up to Sara to keep this Redhawk machine rolling. She won the state cross country title in the fall, then led North Tama to the state track meet team title, by herself, in the spring. Yes, by herself. She won 4 events, putting up 40 points, winning the team trophy by 2 points.
The Twins finished their high school careers with 8 state and 3 Drake Relays titles each. Brooke won 2 state cross country titles and Blaire one.
Sara Stoakes was a 12-time state track champion, a 3 time Drake Relays champ plus a state cross country gold medalist. She won every individual running event at the state meet during her career but the 100 hurdles and the 3,000 meter run.
The numbers these 3 young ladies put together in their high school careers is staggering. They combined to qualify to the state track meet 46 times, winning 46 medals, 28 of which were gold. They qualified to the Drake Relays in 25 events, winning 25 medals, including 5 titles. They qualified to the state cross country meet a total of 12 times, coming home with 11 top 13 finishes, 4 individual gold medals plus a state team title and 2 other top 4 team finishes. They were a part of 4 consecutive state track and field team titles. Between the 3 of them, they hold Class 1A state meet records in 3 events. They also hold 6 spots on the Iowa Girls All Time lists in 3 different events.
They were as accomplished in the classroom as they were on the track and the cross country course. Brooke was named class Valedictorian in 2007 while Blaire took home Salutatorian honors. The next year Sara took home the title of Valedictorian.
Not bad for a small Iowa town of 1500 with no more than 50 students per graduating class.
I want to make sure that everyone knows that these 3 superstars were not the only members of these championship teams. Coach Hanser had other girls from which to pick and choose to fill needed spots on relays, but it was obvious North Tama’s dominating 4-year reign was in the hands of these 3 Hall of Famers.
Upon graduating from North Tama, Brooke and Blaire headed to Lincoln to compete for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. There they combined to win 11 All-Conference honors and were named to the conference All-Academic team 3 times.
Brooke is an accountant at Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance company of Iowa in West Des Moines and is the Head Girls Track and Field coach at Urbandale High School. She and her husband of over 6 years, Taylor, have 2 daughters, Brie who is 3 and one-year-old Indy with Baby Schupbach number 3 on the way.
Blaire lives in Hudson with Husband Channing Puls and is the Head Boys Track Coach for the Pirates. She works for CUNA Mutual in Waverly as a Compliance Analyst.
After high school graduation, Sara accepted a scholarship offer from Kansas State and moved to Manhattan where she won a B12 title in the outdoor 800 plus B12 All-Academic honors. She was also part of K-States 4×800 team that won the 2011 Drake Relays. Nebraska was also in that race with a team made up of Iowans: The Dinsdale Twins, Ashley Miller, and Ellen Dougherty. It was a great day on the Blue Oval.
Sara and her husband Taylor live in Huxley. Sara received her Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences from Iowa State in 2017 and is a technical consultant for Micronutrients and travels the country providing technical support in mineral nutrition for dairy nutritionists.