Click here for more photos from Iowa City West at the state track meet. 

Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – As Landon Green entered the shot put ring outside of Drake Stadium on Friday 4×100 relay teams zoomed around the track not far away.

There was a time, before he turned into a full-time thrower, that Green wanted to be a sprinter.

He got his chance as an alternate on the Trojans’ 4×100 squad at the Drake Relays last season.

“I actually dropped the baton at Drake,” Green said with a laugh. “That was kind of the end of my 4×100.”

Things have ended up working out just fine for Green in the shot put.

Green broke the West High school record while winning the Class 4A state shot put title on Friday with a toss of 58-5.

“I don’t remember his times but there was lots of conversation about if he was going to run for us or not,” West High coach TJ Craig said. “Regardless of what he does you are interested in him because he’s just so explosive.”

At 5-foot-9 Green looks as much like a sprinter as he does state champion thrower.

The junior isn’t just another thrower that thinks he can run.

Green ran an open 200 or two during the indoor season and trains like a sprinter, working on explosion with every workout.

“I think I could be a sprinter,” Green said. “I really do. Every lift I do I work on my explosion.”

Green has used the sprinters explosiveness to his advantage in the shot put ring.

He went from 16th place last season as a sophomore to the top of the 4A awards stand, finishing better than a foot in front of runner-up Logan Jones of Lewis Central.

“He is the proof that it’s not all about size,” Craig said. “It’s about athleticism and explosion and he has that and he proved it again.”

Green entered with the second-best throw in Class 4A this season at 56-11.

He had already secured the title before unleashing a toss that broke the West High school record of 57-11 set by Mark Schaapveld in 2003 on his final attempt.

As Green prepped for his final attempt a contingent of West High fans began to clap in unison in anticipation of his last throw.

“I was going for it and when (the fans) started the clap I got pretty nervous,” Green said. “I didn’t want them to start the clap but it helped it was a lot of energy that it brought toward me.”

The shot put title from Green came after teammate Jonathan Gannon claimed the discus crown on Thursday and completed a sweep of the throwing events for West High.

“We’ve had the throwers all year pick us up and Landon just brought it today,” Craig said. “To beat a school record that has been around forever with a huge history of great throwers is absolutely a credit to him and the coaches and he deserves every bit of it.”

The win by Green capped another strong day for West High that helped the Trojans take control of the Class 4A title race.

West High leads Class 4A with 51 points while West Des Moines Valley is second with 32 and Waukee is third with 31.

“It’s motivation when you are in the team hunt,” Green said. “I love having the pressure on me it pushes me even further so I like having that on me.”

Class 4A State Track and Field Meet

At Drake Stadium in Des Moines

Team scores – 1. West High 51; 2. West Des Moines Valley 32; 3. Waukee 31; 4. Ames 28; 5. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 23; 66. Urbandale 20; 7. West Des Moines Dowling 19; 8. Council Bluffs Lewis Central 18; 9. Johnston 17; 10. Pleasant Valley 16

Individual results

(Champion; Area Participants)

400 Hurdles – 1. Austin West (West High) 52.23; 14. Cole Mabry (West High) 56.18

Distance Medley Relay – 1. Urbandale 3:27.91; 7. City High (Max DePrenger, Daniel Brown, Zach Jones, JP Rethwisch) 3:32.4

4×200 – 1. Ankeny Centennial 1:27.99

Shot put – 1. Landon Green (West High) 58-5; 12. Jonathan Gannon (West High) 51-0.

Long jump – 1. Terrell Jordan Jr. (Cedar Rapids Kennedy) 22-5; 2. Austin West (West High) 22-5