Breaking Down the Boys State Qualifying Track and Field Meets
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
The opening day of the state track and field meet is just more than a week away.
Before athletes ascend on the Blue Oval inside Drake Stadium in Des Moines next week they must first earn their spot at the state meet that runs May 20-22.
Those spots will be earned on Thursday at state qualifying meet across the state.
Before action gets rolling at the state qualifiers at 4 p.m. on Thursday we take a quick look at what to watch at the meets featuring Your Prep Sports area teams.
Class 4A
State Qualifier 4
When: Thursday, 4 p.m.
Where: West High
Teams: City High; Liberty High; West High; Dubuque Hempstead; Dubuque Senior; Muscatine; Ottumwa; Cedar Rapids Prairie
Team Title Chase: A couple of Mississippi Valley Conference divisional runners-up last week headline a deep, talented and balanced state qualifying field that stacks up as one of the best in Class 4A.
Cedar Rapids Prairie and Dubuque Senior were both second at MVC divisional meets last week and appear to be the early favorites for team titles on Thursday but will be pushed heavily by a strong pack led by City High, Liberty High, West High and Dubuque Hempstead.
Athlete to Watch: Despite missing most of the first-half of the season City High senior thrower Raph Hamilton has put himself in position for a stellar finish.
Hamilton ranks third in Class 4A in the shot put and 11th in the discus entering the postseason after posting a season-best discus effort at the conference meet last week.
The top-seeded discus competitor at the state qualifier with a mark of 55-5 ½, Hamilton is seeded third in the discus with a toss of 151-10.
Hamilton will have stiff competition in both events on Thursday with Nolan Recker of Muscatine (163-10) tops in the discus and Ottumwa senior Jesus Jaime second in both events at 155-7 in the discus and 54-6 ½ in the shot put.
West High junior Mason Applegate is seeded fifth in the shot put at 49-11.
Event to Watch: If the field comes together the 800 at West High on Thursday could be among the best races at any state qualifier across the state.
Four of the top seven fastest times in Class 4A this season have come from competitors at 4A, qualifier 4 led by Liberty High senior Bowen Gryp who owns the second fastest time at 1:55.36.
City High sophomore Ammon Smith won the 800 at the Mississippi Divisional meet last week and ranks fifth in 4A with a 1:56.53 while Derek Leicht of Dubuque Hempstead won the Valley Division title last Thursday and is sixth with a 1:56.61.
Liberty High Jack Kinzer is seventh with a 1:57.79 and joins Gavin Keeney as one of three Lightning 800 runners in the top 10 in 4A this season.
Throw in West High’s Caden Noeller who sits 12th with a 1:59.15 this season and this race rivals any around in terms of talent and intrigue.
Breakdown: Pick an event, from top to bottom this meet is stacked.
There are great fields across all six Class 4A state qualifiers but across all 19 events few match up to what fans will be treated to at West High on Friday.
With so many strong events there are too many to list but several stand out in addition to the 800.
The 1,600 field could feature as many as eight competitors currently ranked in the top 20 in Class 4A.
Gryp is the top seed and ranks fourth in the state with a 4:21.44 while Dubuque Hempstead senior Owen Maloney (4:23.1) and Liberty High senior Jack Kinzer (4:24.74) are both in the top 10.
City High sophomore Ford Washburn (4:24.92) is 11th, Cedar Rapids Prairie has two runners in the top 14 and West High junior Alex McKane (4:31.82) sits 20th in 4A.
A 400 meter matchup between City High junior Jovan Harris and Matthew Kruse would be entertaining.
Harris is seventh in 4A after running a 49.89 at the MVC meet last week while Kruse ranks sixth at 49.59.
We haven’t even mentioned the sprinters where City High senior Isaac Rohret, Liberty High junior Luke Meyers and West High’s Fabian Brown and Mason Applegate are all in contention to secure state meet spots.
City High has four relay teams that rank in the top five in 4A this season and all four face another top-five team on Thursday.
The 4×800 should be an all Iowa City battle as Liberty High enters with the second-fastest time in 4A and City High is fifth.
City High has the fifth fastest sprint medley and shuttle hurdle times in 4A and Cedar Rapids Prairie is fourth and second in 4A in those two events.
Class 3A
State Qualifier 5
When: Thursday, 4 p.m.
Where: Mount Pleasant
Teams: Clear Creek Amana; Davenport Assumption; Fairfield; Fort Madison; Keokuk; Mount Pleasant; Washington; West Burlington/Notre Dame
Team Title Chase: Clear Creek Amana flexed its muscle at the WAMAC Conference meet last week pulling away from the field to win its first ever conference title in surprisingly easy fashion.
The Clippers enter as favorites again on Thursday and as the focuses switches from scoring points to qualifying for state the Clippers once again will look to exceed expectations.
Athlete to Watch: What a story Clear Creek Amana senior Tom Johnson has been this spring.
Described by Clear Creek Amana head coach Ben Robison as an “animal”, Johnson was named WAMAC track and field athlete of the year after earning four gold medals at the conference meet and has emerged as a leader of a strong group of Clipper relay teams.
Johnson enters with the second fastest time in state qualifier 5 in the 800 at 2:01.83 and has anchored three relay teams to the fastest times among state qualifying squads.
Event to Watch: Alex Figueroa enters with the fifth fastest time in the 100 but don’t expect Figueroa to finish anywhere close to fifth on Thursday.
Despite battling injury this season Figueroa has been close to unbeaten in the 100 this spring.
He suffered his first loss in the event last week when Marion sophomore Alex Mota edged Figueroa by .01 at the WAMAC meet.
Figueroa seems to thrive on competition and is a solid bet to push for a title despite entering with the fifth fastest time at 11.3.
Breakdown: Clear Creek Amana has top-two seeds in seven individual events and will look to load up on individual state qualifiers.
However, it is the relays where the Clippers really flex their muscle and can do the most damage at the state meet.
Clear Creek Amana has the top time among state qualifying teams in six of the seven relay events and five of those teams enter the postseason with top-five times in Class 3A this season.
The Clippers own the fastest time in 3A this season in the distance medley at 3:35.28 and are third fastest in the sprint medley at 1:35.58.
Clear Creek Amana ranks fourth in 3A in both the 4×400 and 4×800 teams and is fifth in the 4×100.
With the Clear Creek Amana shuttle hurdle team the top-seed at Thursday’s state qualifier and the 4×200 seeded fourth the Clippers could conceivably qualifying all seven relay teams for state.
Class 3A
State Qualifier 8
When: Thursday, 4 p.m.
Where: Solon High School
Teams: Solon; Central DeWitt; Maquoketa; Marion; Monticello; Mount Vernon; Dubuque Wahlert; Cedar Rapids Xavier
Team Title Chase: Solon finished 14 points behind Marion while placing third at the WAMAC Super Meet last Thursday and the same two teams figure to battle for the district crown.
Solon will need a strong outing to catch Marion and will be pushed my WAMAC rival Mount Vernon and Cedar Rapids Xavier.
Athlete to Watch: Solon senior Colton Hoffman has been steady for the Spartans all season across the entire lineup.
Hoffman will look to use a strong showing at the state qualifier to set up the opportunity for a big week at the state meet.
Hoffman enters with the third fastest time at the state qualifier in the 100 at 11.15 and sits third in the high jump at 6-1.
However, Hoffman’s biggest roles on Thursday will likely come in the relays.
Hoffman has been a workhorse in the relay events this season running on four different Solon relays that enter with top-four seed times at the state qualifier.
Event to Watch: Marion sophomore Alex Mota used late charge to overtake Solon senior Brayden Rickertson at the finish line of the 400 at the WAMAC meet last week.
Could there be a rematch at the state qualifying meet?
It’s possible, although the multi-talented Mota could be used in a variety of different events.
The WAMAC 400 was as good as it gets with Mota winning by .03 over Rickertsen in a season best time of 51.57.
Add Monticello senior Jasper Nietert who has run a 51.75 this season and a three-person showdown could make for even more drama.
Breakdown: Solon has already enjoyed a resurgent season highlighted thus far by its third-place WAMAC finish.
The Spartans can make it an even more impressive spring with a strong showing on its home track at the state qualifier.
Solon doesn’t have a top seed in any event but has top-three seeds in seven individual events led by Hoffman, senior Ben DeValk who is third in the 800 and 1,600 and senior thrower Zach Harp who is second in the shot put and third in the discus.
What Solon may lack in individual star power it more than makes up for with solid relay teams.
All seven Solon relays enter the state qualifier with top-four seed times highlighted by the Spartans’ 4×400 squad that enters with the second-fastest qualifying time.
The Solon sprint medley, distance medley and 4×200 squads all have the third fastest times among teams at the 3A, 8 qualifier.
Class 2A
State Qualifier 5
When: Thursday, 4 p.m.
Where: Tipton
Teams: West Branch; Regina; Anamosa; Bellevue; Camanche; Durant; Louisa-Muscatine; Mediapolis; Northeast; Tipton; West Liberty; Wilton
Team Title Chase: Bellevue won the River Valley Conference meet last week and is the favorite in the Class 2A, State Qualifier 5 field that features 10 RVC teams.
Anamosa was third and Tipton fourth at the RVC meet and will join Mediapolis as the top teams chasing Bellevue.
Athlete to Watch: Regina junior Carson Jensen was runner-up in the 400 at the RVC meet last week and secure a spot at the state meet with another top-two finish on Thursday.
Jensen could see one familiar foe and another fresh face in the 400 in his attempt to secure a spot at state.
Camanche senior Dylan Darsidan enters with the top qualifying time at 50.21 and finished more than half a second in front of Jensen on his way to the RVC title.
Mediapolis sophomore Anthony Isley has the second fastest time among state qualifying meet participants at 51.06 while Jensen is third at 51.32.
Event to Watch: With just more than half a second separating the top four competitors the battle for the two automatic qualifying spots in the 110 hurdles should be fierce.
West Liberty senior Sam Gingerich is the favorite, entering with the top time at 15.3.
The next three highest seeded competitors in the event, Alex Pitts of Bellevue, Colton Borst of Anamosa and Cash Woody of West Branch are separated by just .22.
Breakdown: Pushing through qualifiers to the state meet is going to be a tall task for both Regina and West Branch at a strong state qualifying meet.
Regina junior Josh Gaffey is seeded sixth in the shot put and the West Branch 4×200 relay team is seeded fifth with a time of 1:36.08.
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