Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Before even being asked Mike Moore recalled exactly what he had said two years ago after his City High track team came up four points shy of a team title at the Forwald/Coleman Relays.

“We’re coming,” Moore repeated on Thursday. “I know I said it two years ago, I said it a lot the past few years.”

Well don’t look now, but here come the Little Hawks.

City High won seven events and finished runner-up in four others while storming to the team title at the 48^th annual Forwald/Coleman Relays on a cool and overcast evening at Raffensperger Track at City High.

“I’ve been saying that for a while, we are coming,” Moore said. “I don’t think we are there yet but we are still coming. We have a lot of work to do but we are coming.”

City High proved just far it has come with its performance on Thursday.

The Little Hawks scored in every event on Thursday and had two individuals earn points in six different events while racking up 158 points to outdistance runner-up West Des Moines Valley by 32.5 points.

Cedar Rapids Prairie was third with 104 points while West High was fourth at the eight-team meet with 100 points.

“This is a huge step,” City High senior Isaac Rohret said. “Our program is rebuilding, we are trying to get back to that championship run and we taking it day by day and just trying to get there.”

The team title was the first for City High at Forwald Relays since 2014 and snaps a string of four consecutive team titles for West High at the event.

With 158 points on Thursday City High nearly doubled its scoring totals from 2017 (85) and 2018 (82) when it finished fourth and fifth at its home meet.

“We took our time and did it right, we took our butt whoopings, it was embarrassing sometimes but we knew if we kept staying the course we could get to this point,” Moore said. “To beat quality teams like West High, Prairie and the three-time defending state champion Valley and do it convincingly it is very gratifying.”

West High scored 130 points at the 2019 Forwald Relays but finished four points behind cross-town rival and team champion West High.

City High left no doubt on Thursday thanks largely to a group of first-time Forwald participants.

Rohret, a senior sprinter, won the 100 and 200 in his first ever Forwald appearance.

“Coach is always talking about Forwald and the energy here tonight you can’t beat it,” Rohret said. “Coach loves this so I am just happy that I can participate in it this year and help us win.”

Rohret blazed to a title in the 100 in a season-best time of 10.99.

He completed a sweep of the short sprints by edging West Des Moines Valley senior Mason DouBrava at the tape in the 200.

Rohret won the 200 in 22.461 while DouBrava was second in 22.463.

“I knew it was close but I had no idea if I won or not,” Rohret said. “I was happy to find out I had won that one.”

Sophomores Ammon Smith, Matt Schaeckenbach and Ronnie Major all added individual titles in their Forwald Relays debuts.

Schaeckenbach won the high jump clearing 5-11 and was runner-up in the 400 hurdles in 56.62.

Major won the long jump with a mark of 20-3 ¼ and Smith highlighted a 1-2 City High finish in the 800 edging fellow sophomore Truman Thompson to win in 2:00.01.

“You can tell that this meet really means a lot to coach,” Smith said. “We put our lineup together to get the most points this week and I think we ran well.”

City High added titles in the 4×800 and shuttle hurdle relays and showed off their improved depth with five runner-up finishes and three more third-place performances.

Sophomore Noah Carey was runner-up in the 3,200, sophomore Ford Washburn was runner-up in the 1,600 and junior Jovan Harris was second in the 400.

City High was third in the 4×400 relay, Raph Hamilton was third in the shot put and John Aschenbrenner was third in the 110 hurdles.

“We performed well,” Moore said. “We scored in every single event, we double placed in a lot of events, we call it Forwald magic for a reason and it was special tonight and it’s something I’m never going to forget.”

Forward/Coleman Relays

At Raffensperger Track at City High

Team scores – 1. City High 158; West Des Moines Valley 125.5; 3. Cedar Rapids Prairie 104; 4. West High 100; 5. Linn-Mar 84; 6. Pleasant Valley 58; 7. Marion 57; 8. Muscatine 50.5

Individual results (Event winners; area placers)

Long jump – 1. Ronnie Major (ICH) 20-3 ¾; 2. Daquan Johnson (ICW) 19-10 ½; 6. Akili Mattox (ICH) 18-8 ½

High jump – 1. Matt Schaeckenbach (ICH) 5-11; 6. John Aschenbrenner (ICH) 5-9; 8. Daniel Robinson (ICW) 5-7

Shot put – 1. Garret Wagner (MAR) 55-11; 2. Braeden Edwards (WDV) 52-9; 3. Raph Hamilton (ICH) 49-5 ½;

Discus – 1. Nolan Recker (MUS) 153-8; 8. Raph Hamilton (ICH) 134-2

100 – 1. Isaac Rohret (ICH) 10.99; 4. Mason Applegate (ICW) 11.48; 7. Fabian Brown (ICW) 11.55

200 – 1. Isaac Rohret (ICH) 22.47; 4. Mason Applegate (ICW) 23.33; 6. Fabian Brown (ICW) 23.82; 8. Akili Mattox (ICH) 24.51

400 – 1. Mason DouBrava (WDV) 50.64; 2. Jovan Harris (ICH) 51.5; 6. Christian Janis (ICW) 54.47; 8. Daquan Johnson (ICW) 55.13

800 – 1. Ammon Smith (ICH) 2:00.01; 2. Truman Thompson (ICH) 2:00.96; 4. Alex McKane (ICW) 2:02.1; 5. Caden Noeller (ICW) 2:02.45

1,600 – 1. Shane Erb (MAR) 4:30.31; 2. Ford Washburn (ICH) 4:30.56; 3. Alec McKane (ICW) 4:34.06; 8. Noah Carey (ICH) 4:45.65

3,200 – 1. Hayden Kuhn (L-M) 9:41.78; 2. Noah Carey (ICH) 10:03.55; 5. Seth Cheney (ICW) 10:10.08; 7. Parker Max (ICH) 10:18.9

110 hurdles – 1. Adam Longwell (CRP) 15.28; 2. Jason Lu (ICW) 15.3; 3. John Aschenbrenner (ICH) 15.36; 5. Austin Rindels (ICH) 16.15; 7. Clay Bopp (ICW) 17.04

400 hurdles – 1. Abass Kemokai (L-M) 56.05; 2. Matt Schaeckenbach (ICH) 56.62; 4. Jason Lu (ICW) 57.57; 6. Clay Bopp (ICW) 59.72

Shuttle hurdle relay – 1. City High (Matt Schaeckenbach, Jovan Harris, Austin Rindels, John Aschenbrenner) 1:00.11; 5. West High (Clay Bopp, Christian Janis, Aiden Behounek, Kalen Haworth) 1:07.59

Sprint medley relay – 1. West Des Moines Valley 1:36.55; 4. West High (Nathan Gudenkauf, Trey King, Daquan Johnson, Caden Noeller) 1:39.47; 6. City High (Gable Mitchell, Isaiah Svoboda, Drew Larson, Sam Rew) 1:43.22

Distance medley relay – 1. Cedar Rapids Prairie 3:40.18; 4. West High (Izaiah Loveless, Aidan Jacobsen, Asher Overholt, Isaac Taylor) 3:54.37; 5. City High (Will Larson, Drew Larson, Sam Schafer, Joe Fischer) 3:56.28

4×100 relay – 1. West Des Moines Valley 43.76; 4. West High (Nathan Gudenkauf, Fabian Brown, Trey King, Mason Applegate) 44.21; 5. City High (John Aschenbrenner, Jovan Harris, Ronnie Major, Isaac Rohret) 44.62

4×200 relay – 1. Cedar Rapids Prairie 1:34.75; 2. West High (Nathan Gudenkauf, Trey King, Fabian Brown, Mason Applegate) 1:34.92; 5. City High (Gable Mitchell, Isaiah Svoboda, Sam Rew, Ronnie Major) 1:37.07

4×400 relay – 1. West Des Moines Valley 3:25.66; 3. City High (Isaac Rohret, Matt Schaeckenbach, Ammon Smith, Jovan Harris) 3:29.35; 7. West High (Caden Noeller, Christian Janis, Daquan Johnson, Jason Lu) 3:40.34

4×800 relay – 1. City High (Ford Washburn, Truman Thompson, Sullivan Hall, Ammon Smith) 8:07.99; 3. West High (Isaac Taylor, Asher Overholt, Mason Van Waning, Seth Cheney) 8:37.18

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