By Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

It’s not exactly a win or go home scenario in the prep track postseason but many competitors will have their seasons come to an end at district meets across the state on Thursday.

After an emphasis on team titles last Thursday at conference meets the focus shifts to individual advancement on Thursday with spots at Des Moines’ Drake Stadium and the state track and field meet up for grabs.

Here is a breakdown of district meets for area teams as they seek spots at the state track and field meet that runs May 18-20.

Class 4A District 5

At City High

Teams: City High, West High, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Newton, Ottumwa, Cedar Rapids Prairie, Burlington. 

Who Qualifies?: The top two finishers in each event earn automatic berths to the state meet along with the next 12 best performances from all six 4A meets.

Team Title Chase: Fresh off its first MVC Divisional title since 2014 West High will look to add a district title to its season haul. The Trojans enter as the favorite with the top qualifying performance in nine different events and a balanced lineup no other competing team can match.

The MVC Valley Division, Cedar Rapids Kennedy will be the top competitor for West High and the Cougars are certainly capable led by a field event group that scored 66 points at the divisional meet.

Athlete to Watch: West High junior Austin West enters with the fastest time in the 400 hurdles by nearly two seconds over teammate Max Hill but its everything else that West will do on Thursday that makes him so important to the Trojan lineup. The versatile West is a member of all three West High relays that enter with the top qualifying times, running on the sprint medley, distance medley and 4×400 squads.

Event to Watch: The final event of the night should be worth the wait as the top three teams in the 4×400 are separated by just .10 of a second. West High has the top qualifying time at 3:22.57 while cross-town rival City High is second at 3:22.6. The two 4×400 teams have faced off twice in the last three weeks beginning with a meeting at City High’s Forwald/Coleman Relays and later in the Drake Relays prelims. Cedar Rapids Kennedy isn’t far off the qualifying pace with a 3:22.67.

Don’t Miss This: Any time you get a chance to watch Cedar Rapids Prairie senior Joah Banks run the hurdles take it. Banks clocked the fastest time in state history early this season at 13.97.

Breakdown: A field that includes defending 4A state champion Cedar Rapids Prairie, last year’s third place finisher Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 2017 state contender West High and City could be among the strongest in 4A.

City High junior Zach Jones enters with the top qualifying time in the 400 and the Little Hawks have three relays teams with top-two qualifying performances.

West High has top-two qualifying performances in 12 of 19 events.

Class 3A District 2

At Marion

Teams: Solon, Central DeWitt, Maquoketa, Marion, Mount Vernon, Dubuque Wahlert, West Delaware, Cedar Rapids Xavier.

Who Qualifies?: The top two finishers in each event earn automatic berths to the state meet along with the next eight best performances from all eight 3A meets.

Team Title Chase: Mount Vernon finished eight points in front of Marion for second place at the WAMAC meet last week and those two teams figure to battle for the district crown on Thursday. Marion and Mount Vernon each enter with the top qualifying time in seven events and lead a field that features six WAMAC teams along with the 3A squads (Cedar Rapids Xavier and Dubuque Wahlert) from the otherwise all 4A Mississippi Valley Conference.  

Athlete to Watch: Solon junior Luke Ira enters seeded second in the 110 high hurdles with a time of 15.21 trailing favorite Blair Brooks (14.75) of Marion. Ira also sits fourth in the long jump entering Thursday’s state qualifier and could be a favor on several Solon relay teams.

Event to Watch: Beating Mount Vernon senior Tristan Wirfs in a throwing event has proved virtually impossible this season which leaves only one automatic qualifying spot in both the discus and shot put if you pencil in the Iowa football recruit as a lock to advance.

The battle for those spots should be hotly contested as three qualifiers, including Solon’s Tyler Linderbaum (55-4 ¼ and Coal Flansburg (54-8 ½), enter with shot put marks better than 52-9 behind Wirfs.

In the discus three athletes have marks of between 155 and 158-9 behind Wirfs. Solon senior Jackson Walker has the fourth best qualifying mark at 155-2 ½.

Don’t Miss This: In perhaps the best year in state history for high school throwers Wirfs has been at the top of a loaded group. Wirfs leads the state in both the shot put and discus, producing top-five all-time performances in both events. His 67-0 in the shot put is second best all-time and his 195-2 in the discus the fifth best mark in state history.

Breakdown: In one of the top Class 3A districts in the state nearly every event will feature a battle for the two automatic qualifying spots. Led by the Marion tandem of Myles Bach and Jeremy Fopma the distance events will be especially loaded in a field with very few weaknesses.

Class 3A District 6

At Pella 

Teams: Clear Creek Amana, Benton Community, Grinnell, Knoxville, Oskaloosa, Pella, South Tama, Williamsburg.  

Who Qualifies?: The top two finishers in each event earn automatic berths to the state meet along with the next eight best performances from all eight 3A meets.

Team Title Chase: Little Hawkeye Conference rivals Oskaloosa and Pella figure to battle it out for the district title. Oskaloosa has the top seed in eight events, including four relays while Pella has the top performance in five events.

Athlete to Watch: Clear Creek Amana junior Seb Johanson has the third best long jump among district six competitors at 20-9 but will also be a key component of what the Clippers qualify on the track. Johanson is a member of the Clipper 4×100 relay team seeded fifth at the shuttle hurdle relay team that enters fourth.

Event to Watch: The top three teams in the shuttle hurdle relay are separated by less than half a second setting up a battle for the two automatic spots. Pella has the top time coming in at 1:01.01 but Benton Community and Oskaloosa aren’t far off at 1:01.5. Clear Creek Amana should be in the mix as well entering with a season-best time of 1:02.5.

Don’t Miss This: District 6 offers an opportunity to see the Drake Relays high jump champion in Oskaloosa senior J’Von Harris. Harris enters with the top performance in the state this year in the high jump, clearing 6-10, and also owns the second best long jump performance of the season at 23-6.

Breakdown: It will be a mix of familiar foes and new faces for Clear Creek Amana on Thursday. WAMAC opponents Benton Community, South Tama and Williamsburg join Little Hawkeye conference heavyweights Oskaloosa, Pella and Grinnell in a balanced field.

Clear Creek Amana has three relays that enter with top-five qualifying times while Ethan Postler is seeded third in the discus and Johanson is third in the long jump.

Other contenders for the Clippers could include Derek Toy in the 400 hurdles and Drake Mougin in the 800. Toy was a state qualifier in the 400 hurdles a year ago.

Class 2A District 8

At Tipton

Teams: Regina, West Branch, Camanche, Columbus, Highland, Louisa-Muscatine, Mediapolis, North Cedar, Northeast, Tipton, Wapello, Wilton.  

Who Qualifies?: The top two finishers in each event earn automatic berths to the state meet along with the next eight best performances from all eight 2A meets.

Team Title Chase: It should be a tight race at the top with Northeast and Regina two of the favorites to come out on top. Northeast was third at last week’s River Valley Conference meet, 11 points in front of Regina. Lineups change with spots at the state meet on the line but those two RVC rivals should battle it out again with North Cedar and Tipton giving chase.

Athlete to Watch: Regina senior Jack Jensen enters with the third fastest qualifying time in the 400 and is a member of the two Regina medley relay teams that both come into Thursday’s meet seeded in the top two. The Regina sprint medley enters with the fastest time by nearly a second at 1:36.42 while the Regals’ distance medley foursome has the second-best mark among district teams.

Event to Watch: The high hurdles can be as unpredictable as any event on the track but all signs point to a battle for the top two spots and guaranteed trips to the state meet. Tipton senior Wesley Zell is atop a list of three hurdlers separated by just .23 of a second. West Branch senior Cooper Kabela has the second-fastest time coming in at 15.41 and Camanche senior Mason Lanhart is third at 15.57.

Don’t Miss This: Jared Brinkman has become a must-see attraction this season in the throwing events. The Regina senior uncorked the seventh best throw in state history at the Drake Relays with toss of 65-2 ½, which is 15 feet more than the next best mark by a District 8 competitor. Brinkman also enters the top seed in the discus with a mark of 162-10 ½. 

Breakdown: Seven different teams enter with a top seed in an event led by Regina which enters with the best performance in five.

Along with Brinkman and the sprint medley relay team Ryan Bonthius has the top time in the 800 (2:01.83) and Nathan Meyer owns the best 3,200 time at (10:15).

West Branch has the top time in the 4×800 by more than eight seconds at 8:39.18.