Photo by Jeff Yoder | West High state track photo gallery

Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – Track fans had to wait nearly 24 additional hours for a much-anticipated showdown in the Class 4A 400 after Thursday evening Thunderstorms forced the postponement of the final heat.

The performance Darien Porter and Gabe Caruthers put on Friday afternoon at Drake Stadium in Des Moines proved to be well worth the wait.

Porter needed an all-time Iowa best performance to edge Caruthers for the second 400-meter title of his career.

The Bettendorf senior become the first athlete in state history to break 47 seconds in the 400 winning 46.99 while Caruthers was second in 47.38 the sixth-fastest time in state history.

“I’m happy, I’m proud of that time,” Caruthers said. “A pr by a whole second and a half, to beat the number one seed time coming in, I’m proud of that Darien is just a heck of an athlete, he ran a big time but I am glad for what I did.”

Porter won the 400 title as a sophomore in 2017 before being nipped at the finish line by West High’s Austin West last season.

This time it was Porter that used a late surge on his way to a state title.

Caruthers came off the final turn in the lead but Porter surpassed him in the final 50 meters while breaking the previous state record set by City High’s Calvin Davis in 2002.

“Knowing that my name will be down as the all-time state’s best time and be in the record books for at least a little bit means a lot,” Porter said.

Caruthers entered with the third fastest time in the 4A field trailing only Porter and Waukee senior Sam Yeaway and despite an early misstep quickly turned it into a two-person race.

The time of 47.38 was 1.44 faster than the previous career-best for Caruthers who was seventh in the 400 last season.

“I slipped at the very beginning,” Caruthers said. “My first step I slipped out of the blocks but I didn’t let it get to my head. I didn’t let that affect my race.”

The first two heats of the 4A 400 were run on Thursday night.

Porter and Caruthers win in the starting blocks with rest of the 4A field on Friday night when a thunderstorm started a 70-minute delay that ultimately ended with the event being pushed to Friday.

Both athletes came ready to put on a show on Friday.

“I prepared the same way I did the other day, I came in knowing I had to stay within my head and I can’t over think it,” Caruthers said. “This is my race and I am running for my time, however it goes down I’m going to be happy with it.”

Class 4A

Team scores – 1. West Des Moines Valley 48; 2. Western Dubuque 38; 3. Ames 30; 4. Cedar Falls 29; 5. Waukee 28; 6. West Des Moines Dowling 22; 7. Council Bluffs Lewis Central 21.5; 8. Southeast Polk 18; 9. Linn-Mar 16; 10. Dubuque Hempstead 15

Individual results (Event winner; area qualifiers)

400 hurdles – 1. Thai Thompson (West Des Moines Dowling) 53.05; 9. Drake Woody (Liberty High) 55.36;

4×200 – 1. West Des Moines Valley 1:26.17; 12. City High (Kaleba Jack, Max DePrenger, Jovan Harris, DaRhon Fouch) 1:30.12

Distance medley relay – 1. Johnston 3:27.19; 6. City High (Kaleba Jack, Jovan Harris, Max DePrenger, Daniel Brown) 3:32.11; 13. West High (Ryan Gudenkauf, Nick Johnson, Tyuss Bell, Kolby Greiner) 3:37.28; 20. Liberty High (Evan Chandler, Tayshaun McGee, Drake Woody, Bo Gryp) 3:42.09  

Shot put – 1. Logan Jones (Council Bluffs Lewis Central) 60-2; 9. Landon Green (West High) 51-10 23. Mason Applegate (West High) 41-11 ¼

Long jump – 1. Damon Jaeger (Western Dubuque) 22-7 ¾; 4. Kaleba Jack (City High) 21-10 ½; 15. JaQuel Davis (Liberty High) 20-7

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