What to Watch on Friday at the State Track and Field Meet
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
One day down.
Two to go at the State Track and Field Meet.
The final day divided into two sessions by class Friday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines offers three finals on the track and marks the conclusion of field events.
Here are five things to watch on Friday involving teams from the Your Prep Sports area.
Team Races Heat Up
One day in and the City High boys and Solon girls have both put themselves smack dab in the middle of the title hunt.
City High opens Friday leading the 4A boys team standings with 25.5 points, six more than West Des Moines Dowling.
The Little Hawks have the potential to add points in a number of events on Friday including the distance medley relay team, TaeShon McDaniels in the shot put and Matt Schaeckenbach in the 400 hurdles.
The Solon girls had a big opening day and lead the 3A standings by 10 points with 26 points.
Solon isn’t seeded into the top eight in either the 4×200 or distance medley relay on Friday so it would be a nice boost to score points in those while Sophia and Mia Stahle will try to tack on points in the 400 hurdles.
Doubling Up in on Throwing Medals
City High senior TaeShon McDaniels and Liberty High senior Darya Acas each collected medals in throwing events on Thursday.
McDaniels was fifth and Acas was sixth in the discus.
Both will be back at it on Friday in the shot put,
McDaniels has the second-best shot put mark in 4A this season at 55-5 and Acas has the 13th best mark in Class 4A.
Varga Time
West High sophomore Erinn Varga seems to just keep getting better.
Varga posted the best time of her career in the 400 hurdles her last time out clocking a 1:05.42 at the state qualifying meet.
The qualifying time for Varga is fourth fastest in 4A this season and the second-fastest time from qualifying meets last week.
Waukee senior Mackenzie Carney is the Drake Relays champion and overwhelming favorite in the event with a season-best time of 1:02.87 but the battle for second should be fierce and Varga expects to be in that mix.
Distance Medley Showdown
City High and West High are used to going heads up on the track throughout the season.
The two teams are in different heats in the distance medley relay on Friday but both should be battling for medals and important team points.
City High won the Drake Relays title in the event last month posting the time in the state this spring at 3:28.7.
The Little Hawks had just the 10th fastest time from state qualifying meets last week but should be in the thick of it on Friday.
West High meanwhile owns the fifth fastest time this season at 3:33.68 and posted the fastest time at state qualifying meet and will be a player in the 4A race as well.
Solon’s Relay Success
Last season Solon scored in all seven relays on its way to a runner-up finish in Class 3A.
This year the Spartans are 1-for-1 in relay scoring this season and will try to continue that streak on Friday.
The Spartans don’t have top-eight seed times from the state qualifier in either of Friday’s relays, the 4×200 or distance medley, but have clocked top-six times in 3A in both events during the season.
Solon has the sixth fastest time in the distance medley this season and is the defending state champion in the event.
The Spartans have the sixth fastest 4×200 time this season and the 14th fastest time from last week’s qualifying meets.
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