Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – In the week between conference and district meets the focus shifts from team points to individual success.

On Friday a whole lot of individual success turned into a big team victory for West High.

Led by a three-title performance from senior Gabe Caruthers four West High athletes combined to win seven individual titles as the Trojans pulled away to win the team title at the Class 4A, District 5 meet at Raffensperger Track at City High.  

“There was a lot of focus on the individual tonight and we are individuals but we are a team of individuals,” Caruthers said. “We have me, Kolby Greiner, Landon Green, Ian Prescott a lot of guys as individuals that score, but we are a team.”

Caruthers won the 100, 200 and 400 and anchored the lone relay win for West High as the Trojans finished with 138 points, 18 clear of runner-up Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

The district title comes eight days after the Cougars snapped a two-year string of Mississippi Valley Conference divisional titles for West High with a win at the Valley Divisional meet in Cedar Rapids.

“I would be lying if I said we weren’t a little down after conference,” West High coach T.J. Craig said. “We had a nice talk and we reset and we went after the next thing and this was a really big goal for us so we are really happy.”

Senior Kolby Greiner won titles in the 1,600 and 3,200, Landon Green won the shot put and Marcus Morgan earned a title in the high jump as West High had eight events automatically qualify for next week’s 4A state meet.

No Trojan played a bigger role in the district success on Friday than Caruthers who put on an impressive display in his final district meet.

Caruthers won the 100 in 11.05, the 200 in 22.22 and the 400 in 49.1.

The senior anchored the Trojans sprint medley team to a win in 1:33.68.

“One relay, three individuals, 40 points,” Caruthers said. “I couldn’t be happier with what I’ve been in today.”

Primarily a long sprinter the past two seasons Caruthers picked up the 100 this season for meets specifically like Friday when the Trojans needed individual production.

He came through, holding off Cairron Hendred of Cedar Rapids Kennedy who was second in 11.15.

“For this to be I think my seventh high school 100 ever I am happy with how it has gone,” Caruthers said. “I started as a long sprinter but with a lot of our 100 runners graduating and the need for 100 runners to step up I’ve taken on the 100.”

Caruthers joined Shamar Wyatt, Tyuss Bell and Nick Johnson on the Trojans winning sprint medley team.

“How we run the sprint med is we put three reliable guys and put me on there,” Caruthers said. “It doesn’t matter who the other three are we are calling it stacked.”

Greiner was his usual efficient self winning the 1,600 in 4:26.89 and the 3,200 in 9:30.6.

Green won the shot put with a toss of 54-11.

“I think balancing those two is really the trick, you have to put people in positions where they can excel but also we want to win the team title so we want to put people where we can score a lot of team points,” Craig said. “You have to balance those two things together and that’s the fun part for us.”

Class 4A, District 5 Meet

At City High

Team scores – 1. West High 138; 2. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 120; 3. City High 110; 4. Ottumwa 96; 5. Cedar Rapids Prairie 95; 6. Cedar Rapids Washington 83; 7. Liberty High 70; 8. Cedar Rapids Jefferson 27

Individual results (Automatic Qualifiers; Area placewinners)

100 – 1. Gabe Caruthers (ICW) 11.05; 2. Cairron Hendred (CRK) 11.15; 6. Tahj Williamson (ICH) 11.63; 7. DaRhon Fouch (ICH) 11.66

200 – 1. Gabe Caruthers (ICW) 22.22; 2. Brayden Wright (CRW) 22.67; 5. Tayshaun McGree (ICL) 23.46; 7. Nate Gudenkauf (ICW) 23.82; 8. JaQuel Davis (ICL) 24.0

400 – 1. Gabe Caruthers (ICW) 49.1; 2. Drake Woody (ICL) 50.92; 3. Grahm Goering (ICW) 51.87; 5. Kelby Telander (ICL) 52.53

800 – 1. Daniel Brown (ICH) 1:57.36; 2. Lewis Kleman (CRW) 1:58.76; 7. Yousif Salama (ICW) 2:04.72

1,600 – 1. Kolby Greiner (ICW) 4:26.89; 2. Max Locher (CRW) 4:28.25; 4. Ry Threlkeld-Wiegand (ICH) 4:30.62; 6. Will Conrad (ICW) 4:32.91

3,200 – 1. Kolby Greiner (ICW) 9:30.06; 2. Jack Pendergast (CRP) 9:37.44; 6. Mitchell Wilkes (ICH) 10:11.52; 7. Nicolo Schianchi (ICW) 10:12.85

110 hurdles – 1. Oisin Leopold (ICH) 14.98; 2. Drew Bartels (CRK) 15.1; 5. Cole Mabry (ICW) 15.52; 8. Ryan Sartain (ICL) 16.33

400 hurdles – 1. Drake Woody (ICL) 54.97; 2. Isaac Eaton (OTT) 56.78; 4. Jason Lu (ICW) 57.67; 6. Noah Kabat (ICH) 58.29; 7. Soren Ostby (ICH) 58.61

Shot put – 1. Landon Green (ICW) 54-11; 2. Cam Jones (CRK) 50-9; 4. Mason Applegate (ICW) 47-10 ¼; 7. Raph Hamilton (ICH) 45-7 ¾

Discus – 1. Cam Jones (CRK) 178-1; 2. Kaden Schilling (CRP) 156-2; 3. Landon Green (ICW) 146-1; 4. Levi Sherod (ICH) 145-3; 8. Raph Hamilton (ICH) 127-11

High jump – 1. Marcus Morgan (ICW) 6-4; 2. Tevon Williamson (ICH) 6-3; 8. John Aschenbrenner (ICH) 5-6

Long jump – 1. Kaleba Jack (ICH) 22-2; 2. Drew Bartels (CRK) 21-8 ¼; 3. JaQuel Davis (ICL 21-2 ¾; 6. DaRhon Fouch (ICH) 20-4 ¾; 7. Ryan Gudenkauf (ICW) 20-4 ½

4×100 – 1. Cedar Rapids Washington 43.46; 2. Ottumwa 43.47; 5. Liberty High (Kaleb Williams, JaQuel Davis, Tayshaun McGee, Evan Chandler) 44.83; 6. City High (Oisin Leopold, Giovanni Housson, Sila Lulinda, DaRhon Fouch) 44.84; 7. West High (Shamar Wyatt, Fabian Brown, Tyuss Bell, Ryan Gudenkauf) 44.93

4×200 – 1. Ottumwa 1:30.47; 2. City High (Kaleba Jack, Max DePrenger, Jovan Harris, DaRhon Fouch) 1:30.61; 6. West High (Nate Gudenkauf, Fabian Brown, Jason Lu, Ryan Gudenkauf) 1:33.49; 8. Liberty High (Jacob Adam, Dominic Ehrman, JaQuel Davis, Kaleb Williams) 1:36.64

4×400 – 1. Liberty High (Kelby Telander, Bo Gryp, Ben Houselog, Drake Woody) 3:27.27; 2. Cedar Rapids Prairie 3:28.62; 5. City High (Max DePrenger, Jovan Harris, Matt Taylor, Carter Seaton) 3:32.41; 7. West High (Tyuss Bell, Grahm Goering, Ian Prescott, Jason Lu) 3:35.15

4×800 – 1. City High (Daniel Brown, Ry Threlkeld-Wiegand, Joe Fisch, Max DePrenger) 8:05.32; 2. Ottumwa 8:06.85; 4. West High (Caden Noeller, Raymond Yang, Will Conrad, Ian Prescott) 8:12.38; 6. Liberty High (Jack Kinzer, Ethan O’Donnell, Bo Gryp, Tyler Lambert) 8:21.95

Shuttle hurdle relay – 1. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 1:00.17; 2. City High (Oisin Leopold, John Aschenbrenner, Tevon Williamson, Griffen Vogelgesang) 1:00.36; 5. West High (Jason Lu, Anuj Jani, Chris Caruthers, Clayton Bopp) 1:06.41; 6. Liberty High (Daqwan Sanders, Ryan Sartain, DeJuan Smith, Darius Willis-Newell) 1:08.38;

Sprint medley relay – 1. West High (Shamar Wyatt, Tyuss Bell, Nick Johnson, Gabe Caruthers) 1:33.68; 2. Ottumwa 1:35.58; 4. Liberty High (Evan Chandler, Ben Houselog, Kelby Telander, Drake Woody) 1:36.05; 8. City High (Kaleba Jack, Max DePrenger, Jovan Harris, Carter Seaton) 1:37.81

Distance medley relay – 1. Liberty High (Evan Chandler, Tayshaun McGee, Ben Houselog, Bo Gryp) 3:39.12; 2. City High (Kaleba Jack, Jovan Harris, Carter Seaton, Matt Taylor) 3:40.2; 4. West High (Ryan Gudenkauf, Nick Johnson, Tyuss Bell, Kolby Greiner) 3:41.23

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