By Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – It’s a distinction that Derek Nugent would rather not have but after competing at the Drake Relays the past two seasons the West High senior has become the team’s expert on adverse weather conditions.

Nugent was a member of the West High 4×800 relay team that competed during a torrential downpour at Drake Stadium last season.

The driving rain of a year ago was nothing compared to what mother nature cooked up for Friday morning.

West High battled through a steady rain and temperatures in the 30s to finish fourth in the distance medley relay.

“I remember last year at least it was like 50 degrees,” Nugent said. “This is rain and like 38, it’s cold.”

The conditions didn’t stop the Trojans from posting a season-best time of 3:32.44, better than two seconds faster than its qualifying time of 3:34.76.

“We were just running,” Nugent said. “We were competing hopefully for a season’s best times and just competing against everyone else around us.”

Indianola won the title in 3:31.83 out of the second heat by .01 over runner-up Waukee.

The City High foursome of Vance Dillon, Jack Roggeveen, Zach Jones and Jim McMillan was sixth in 3:35.62.

Austin West and Dillon Doyle ran the 200 meter legs for West High giving way to Gabe Caruthers for the 400 meter run of the 1,600 relay.

It was the first time this season the quartet had run the event together.

“My handoff was a little rough the, first one,” Doyle said. “But we will get better at it.”  

Nugent anchored the Trojans to the fourth-place finish on a day that felt more like fall than spring.

“I’ve never run in anything like this, just football games,” Doyle said. “That’s the only thing you can compare it too.”

West High junior Jonathan Gannon placed seventh in the discus with a mark of 158-3 while teammate Blake Ealy finished 21st with a mark of 138-11.

Nugent capped his day with a third-place finish in the 800 in a career best time of 1:56.99.

Sweeping up: Mount Vernon senior Tristan Wirfs completed a sweep of the throwing events by winning the discus with a toss of 190-1.

Wirfs won the shot put for the second straight season on Friday and becomes the first high school boy to sweep the throwing events since Chase Madison of Newton in 2004.

Keeping Busy: Solon senior Josie Durr finished third in the high jump competition that was moved indoors to the field house to stay out of the rain.

Durr matched her career-best, clearing 5-6 to finish third behind defending state champion Megan Durbin of Greene County (5-6) and North Polk junior Maria Gorham (5-7).

Following the competition Durr headed back to Solon for the Spartans home soccer match against Mount Vernon.

The senior forward enters play on Friday with a state-leading 43 goals.

Friday Individual Results

(Event Top-5 Placers; Area athletes)

Girls shot put – 1. Kat Moody (Waukee) 43-10; 2. Moe Nealey (Waukee) 43-9; 3. Hannah Hood (Creston) 41-2 ¼; 4. Chandler Haight (West High) 40-11; 5. Marin Ehler (North Fayette Valley) 40-4 ¼; 12. Lucy Murphy (City High) 37-10 ¼.

Girls high jump – 1. Maria Gorham (North Polk) 5-7; 2. Megan Durbin (Green County) 5-6; 3. Josie Durr (Solon) 5-6; 4. Sunday Faya (Denison-Schleswig) 5-4; 5. Sydney Durbin (OA-BCIG) 5-4; 20. Abby Smith (Solon) 5-0.

Boys Discus – 1. Tristan Wirfs (Mount Vernon) 190-1; 2. Nick Phelps (Kingsley-Pierson/Woodbury Central) 176-7; 3. Jackson Coker (Cedar Rapids Kennedy) 174-8; 4. Coy Kirkpatrick (Madrid) 169-5; 5. Bedale Naba (West Des Moines Valley) 161-1; 7. Jonathan Gannon (West High) 158-3; 16. Jared Brinkman (Regina) 144-4; 21. Blake Ealy (West High) 138-11.

Boys long jump – 1. Nick Foss (Harlan) 21-6 ¼; 2. Kevin Kurth (Davenport Central) 21-6; 3. Trey Washington (Dallas Center-Grimes) 21-6; 4. Terrell Jordan Jr. (Cedar Rapids Kennedy) 21-1 ¼; 5. Tariq Brown (West Des Moines Valley) 20-11 ¼.

Girls 100 hurdles – 1. Valerie Welch (West High) 14.43; 2. MiAsia Bergmann (Cedar Rapids Jefferson) 14.86; 3. Hannah Schau (Waukee) 14.87; 4. Lauren Nelson (Waukee) 14.91; 5. Grace Martensen (Benton Community) 15.01; 18. Kitra Bell (West High) 15.76; 30. Kia Noibi (West High) 17.86.

Boys 110 hurdles – 1. Joah Banks (Cedar Rapids Prairie) 14.01; 2. Lantz Reed (Boone) 14.33; 3. Riley Moss (Ankeny Centennial) 14.38; 4. Gratt Reed (Atlantic) 14.42; 5. JoJo Frost (Center Point-Urbana) 14.6; 22. Max Hill (West High) 15.2; 27. Rex Thompson (City High) 15.47.

Girls sprint medley relay – 1. Linn-Mar 1:46.16; 2. Davenport Assumption 1:46.63; 3. Waukee 1:48.1; 4. Sioux City Heelan 1:49.14; 5. Bettendorf 1:49.4; 11. Solon (Sayler McIlravy, Alexis Sands, Taylor Ryan, Erin Kerkhoff) 1:51.58; 22. West High (Katie Severt, Ally Bauer, Peyton Steva, Micaela Gravelin) 1:53.68.

Boys distance medley relay – 1. Indianola 3:31.83; 2. Waukee 3:31.84; 3. Cedar Falls 3:32.41; 4. West High (Austin West, Dillon Doyle, Gabe Caruthers, Derek Nugent) 3:32.44; 5. Johnston 3:33.97; 6. City High (Vance Dillon, Jack Roggeveen, Zach Jones, Jim McMillan) 3:35.62.

Girls 4×200 – 1. Dubuque Wahlert 1:42.24; 2. Waukee 1:42.66; 3. Davenport Assumption 1:42.89; 4. Southeast Polk 1:42.93; 5. Benton Community 1:43.57; 17. West High (Peyton Steva, Micaela Gravelin, Katie Severt, Kitra Bell) 1:47.61; 19. City High (Emma Clark, Tiara Green, Sydney DePrenger, Emma Cooper) 1:48.36.

Boys 4×200 – 1. Western Dubuque 1:28.91; 2. Ankeny Centennial 1:29.32; 3. Waterloo West 1:29.47; 4. West Des Moines Valley 1:29.85; 5. Albia 1:29.87.

Boys 800 – 1. Josh Andrews (Waukee) 1:55.63; 2. Matt Fraizer (West Des Moines Dowling) 1:56.73; 3. Derek Nugent (West High) 1:56.99; 4. Tyler Olson (Muscatine) 1:57.11; 5. Seb Gearhart (Cedar Falls) 1:57.26.

Girls 800 – 1. Joy Ripslinger (Davenport Assumption) 2:10.47; 2. Corinne Gadient (Monticello) 2:14.74; 3. Logan Akason (Waukee) 2:15.69; 4. Lily Campbell (Waukee) 2:16.08; 5. Anna Hostetler (Mid-Prairie) 2:16.35; 7. Bailey Nock (West High) 2:17.31.