Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – The mantra for the City High track and field team is ‘happiest in May’.

The Little Hawks were happy on Saturday after another strong day at the Class 4A state meet but were hoping to be a little happier.

City High led the 4A team standings heading into the final event on Saturday before settling for a third-place finish with 79 points.

Johnston won the 4×400 relay to secure the first state title in program history with 84 points while Ankeny earned a runner-up finish with 80 points.

“We asked our kids to give us everything they had all year and we wanted to be happiest right now,” Moore said. “We are happy but it’s a little bittersweet.”

The third-place finish was the second consecutive top-three finish for City High which was runner-up to West Des Moines Dowling last season.

Seeking its first state title since 2004 the Little Hawks surged to the front of the 4A team standings with two events remaining after a strong Saturday showing that featured three individual top-three finishes.

Truman Thompson finished runner-up in the 800, Ford Washburn was runner-up in the 1,600 and Matt Schaeckenbach was third in the 110 hurdles.

It came down to the 4×400 relay with Johnston winning to take the team title and Ankeny jumping to second with a runner-up finish in the final event.

“We left a couple points out there but it wasn’t because of the kids effort, they were special this weekend just like they have been the last four years,” Moore said. “It was a pleasure coaching these seniors and this team. We just came up a little short.”

It was a third consecutive stellar day from several City High seniors that had the Little Hawks in title contention until the end.

Thompson surged to the front of the pack over the final 200 meters to finish runner-up in the 800 in a time of 1:53.3.

“With about 300 or 250 to go I felt kind of trapped, that’s typically when I start making my move but I talked to my coach and he said he wanted me to wait a little longer so I think being trapped may have helped my race,” Thompson said. “With 200 to go when the pack was so connected I knew I could go all out for the rest of the race and not many people would be able to hang with it.”

Fellow City High senior Ammon Smith finished fourth in the 800 in a time of 1:54.19.

“We’ve talked so much about the team race and myself and Ammon being a couple of the top 800 guys in the state this was an event we needed to hit hard,” Thompson said. “Being two and four I think that’s excellent.”

Seniors Matt Schaeckenbach and Austin Rindels teamed with Dominic Roe and Isaac Washpun to finish fourth in the shuttle hurdle relay in 59.26.

Schaeckenbach and Rindels then finished third and fifth respective in the 110 hurdles.

Rindels was fifth in 15.02 and Schaeckenbach was third in 14.68.

Washburn concluded his brilliant prep career with a runner-up finish to West Des Moines Dowling’s Jackson Heidesch in 4:08.27.

I wasn’t even paying attention to the time at all I was just trying to stay as close to him as I could,” Washburn said. “I knew it wasn’t going to be that fast so today was just about competing.”

The City High 4×400 team of Ayman Noreldaim, Ammon Smith, Jeremiah Madlock and Thompson finished seventh in 3:20.27.

Class 4A

State Track and Field Meet

At Drake Stadium in Des Moines

Team scores (top 10; area teams) – 1. Johnston 84; 2. Ankeny 80; 3. City High 79; 4. Linn-Mar 68; 5. West High 62; 6. West Des Moines Dowling 37; 7. Cedar Falls 30; 8. Cedar Rapids Washington 26; 9. Southeast Polk 23; 10. Mason City 21

Individual events (winner; area participants)

100 – 1. Miles Thompson (Cedar Rapids Washington) 10.46

200 – 1. Miles Thompson (Cedar Rapids Washington) 21.02; 2. Izaiah Loveless (West High) 21.52

800 – 1. Gabe Nash (Sioux City North) 1:52.34; 2. Truman Thompson (City High) 1:53.3; 3. Moustafa Tiea (West High) 1:53.63; 4. Ammon Smith (City High) 1:54.19

1,600 – 1. Jackson Heidesch (West Des Moines Dowling) 4:07.18; 2. Ford Washburn (City High) 4:08.27; 11. Aidan Decker (Liberty High) 4:20.05; 17. Ammon Smith (City High) 4:27.95; 22. Nathan Kinzer (Liberty High) 4:35.41

110 hurdles – 1. Nicholas Gorsich (Linn-Mar) 14.54; 3. Matt Schaeckenbach (City High) 14.68; 5. Austin Rindels (City High) 15.02

Shuttle hurdle – 1. West High (Aidan Jacobsen, Jesus Marungo-Murillo, Quinn Abbott, Christian Janis) 58.19; 4. City High (Matt Schaeckenbach, Isaac Washpun, Dominic Roe, Austin Rindels) 59.26

Sprint medley – 1. Johnston 1:30.15; 22. City High (Phillip Kaplan, Deon Brown, Ronnie Major, Connor Cross) 1:36.72

4×100 – 1. West High (Todd Rent, Izaiah Loveless, Daniel Robinson, Christian Janis) 41.89

4×400 – 1. Johnston 3:15.26; 7. City High (Ayman Noreldaim, Jeremiah Madlock, Ammon Smith, Truman Thompson) 3:20.27

Class 3A

Team scores (top 10; area teams) – 1. Pella 73; 2. Western Dubuque 63; 3. Harlan 55; 4. North Polk 47; 5. Mount Vernon 40; 6. Central DeWitt 35; 7. Council Bluffs Lewis Central 31; 8. Cedar Rapids Xavier 27; 9. Solon 25; 9. West Burlington/Notre Dame 25

Individual events (winner; area participants)

100 – 1. Will Neuharth (Harlan) 10.68

200 – 1. Will Neuharth (Harlan) 21.53

800 – 1. Chase Lauman (Pella) 1:52.61; 12. Michael Yeomans (Solon) 1:59

1,600 – 1. Chase Lauman (Pella) 4:16.9; 14. Brick Kabela (Solon) 4:31.52

110 hurdles – 1. Grayson Hartman (Cedar Rapids Xavier) 14.16

Shuttle hurdle – 1. Cedar Rapids Xavier 58.94

Sprint medley – 1. Western Dubuque 1:32.31; 8. Solon (Brayden Moore, Austin Knight, Blake Timmons, Jeremy Bachus) 1:34.41

4×100 – 1. Harlan 42.13

4×400 – 1. Mount Vernon 3:18.47; 6. Solon (Rhett Mesch, Blake Timmons, Michael Yeomans, Jeremy Bachus) 3:23.62

Class 2A

Team scores (top 10; area teams) – 1. Mediapolis 62; 2. Williamsburg 62; 3. Des Moines Christian 58; 4. OABCIG 45; 5. Shenandoah 37; 6. Clarinda 30; 7. Okoboji 27; 8. Pella Christian 24; 9. Northeast 20; 10. Red Oak 19

Individual events (winner; area participants)

100 – 1. Talib Bird (Northeast) 10.81

200 – 1. Owen Douglas (Williamsburg) 22.17

800 – 1. Logan Rosas (Mediapolis) 1:56.18

1,600 – 1. Collin Houg (Des Moines Christian) 4:19.07

110 hurdles – 1. Jaden Damiano (Iowa Falls) 14.2

Shuttle hurdle – 1. Prairie City-Monroe 1:00.46

Sprint medley – 1. Shenandoah 1:32.99

4×100 – 1. Williamsburg 42.7

4×400 – 1. Durant 3:22.51

Class 1A

Team scores (top 10; area teams) – 1. Lisbon 60; 2. Columbus 52; 3. Lawton-Bronson 43; 4. Mount Ayr 41; 5. ACGC 33; 6. Lynnville-Sully 29; 7. Fort Dodge St. Edmond 26; 7. Woodbine 26; 9. Lenox 20.5; 10. Akron-Westfield 20

Individual events (winner; area participants)

100 – 1. Austi Kunkle (ACGC) 10.52

200 – 1. Austin Kunkle (ACGC) 21.69

800 – 1. Aaron Lursen (Fort Dodge St. Edmond) 1:56.64; 23. Samuel Welter (Regina) 2:09.75

1,600 – 1. Landon Bendgen (Woodbine) 4:18.92

110 hurdles – 1. Triston Miller (Columbus) 14.35

Shuttle hurdle – 1. Lisbon 59.89

Sprint medley – 1. Lawton-Bronson 1:31.12

4×100 – 1. Lisbon 42.1

4×400 – 1. South Hamilton 3:22.29

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