What to watch on Friday at the State Track and Field Meet
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
The opening day of the state track and field meet is in the books.
With one day and five events completed we turn our attention to day two which features five more finals including the completion of field events in all four classes.
Before the action gets rolling on and around the Blue Oval inside Drake Stadium in Des Moines on Friday here are a few things to watch featuring Your Prep Sports Area teams.
Team Races Take Shape
By Friday evening 10 events will be completed and the team events will really begin to take shape.
Several Your Prep Sports area teams have put themselves in strong positions heading into day two.
The City High boys had a big opening day vaulting to the top of the 4A team standings with 29 points, seven more than second place Linn-Mar.
City High has several solid scoring options on Friday with its distance medley team, a pair of long jumpers and Matt Schaeckenbach in the 400 hurdles.
A solid day two for the Little Hawks should have City High in solid position heading into Saturday.
The Solon girls also had a strong start on Thursday scoring 17 points, six fewer than day one leader ADM.
Solon has its own scoring options on Friday with Sophia Stahle the top seed in the 400 hurdles, its distance medley a title contender.
The Spartans are still the 3A favorite but a strong opening day by ADM has tightened the race.
Big Day for West High
The Trojans didn’t score a point on Thursday but that should change quickly on Friday.
West High should be in for a big day on the track on Friday highlighted by its distance medley and 4×200 relay teams.
The Trojans have the fastest time in 4A this season in the distance medley at 3:26.67 and own the fastest time in the 4×200 at 1:26.91, which ranks third all-time.
West High’s 4×200 foursome of Todd Rent, Christian Janis, Aidan Jacobsen and Izaiah Loveless should push for the all-time state record of 1:26.17 held by West Des Moines Valley.
The Solon Relay Streak
Solon went 1-for-1 in scoring in relays on Thursday with a second-place finish in the 4×800.
With its runner-up finish in the 4×800 on Thursday the Spartans have now scored in 16 consecutive relays at the state meet, a streak that dates back to 2019.
Solon will put that streak on the line on Friday with entries in both the distance medley and 4×200.
The Spartans won the 4×400 relay to close the 2019 state meet and have scored in all seven relays at state each of the past two seasons.
A year ago Solon won the distance medley and was third in the 4×200.
The Spartans are seeking a third consecutive 3A title in the distance medley and enter with the eighth fastest time from the state qualifying meet.
Solon has the 17th fastest qualifying time in the 4×200.
Hoopers Turned Jumpers
A couple of the best basketball players in the Your Prep Sports area will square off in the 4A girls long jump.
Liberty High senior Jasmine Barney and West High senior Meena Tate both have college basketball futures.
Barney is headed to Minnesota State next season while Tate will play at Dartmouth.
Before they concentrate on hoops fulltime the two will attempt to grab some state meet hardware in the long jump.
Tate finished tied for fourth in the high jump on Thursday and enters with the 16th best jump in 4A this season at 17-2 ¼.
Barney has the second-best jump from state qualifying meets and the third best effort in 4A this season at 18-2 ¼.
Also keep an eye on Liberty High freshman Alexi Thigpen who has the fourth best jump in the state at 18-0 ½.
One More Hurdle Showdown
West High junior Aidan Jacobsen and Linn-Mar senior Nicholas Gorsich have gone heads up in the 400 hurdles over and over again this season.
The two standouts have been staples at the top of the 400 hurdle chart in the state all season.
There will be one more matchup between the two on Friday.
Gorsich is the Drake Relays champion and the favorite entering with the top time in the state this spring at 52.02.
Jacobsen has steadily closed the gap and ran a 52.46 at the state qualifying meet last week.
The final matchup between the two as preps should be a thriller.
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