Your Prep Sports Area Boys Track and Field Athletes to Watch This Season
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
The sprint that is the high school track season in Iowa is fully underway.
Area teams officially got their seasons started earlier this month with the finish line for all teams coming at the state track and field meet May 21-23 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
As the season gets going Your Prep Sports takes a look at 10 athletes from the area team watch this season.
Brandon Pedersen
Senior, West Branch
One of the top sprinters in Class 2A Pedersen will look to follow up a breakthrough junior season with an even better senior campaign.
Pedersen burst onto the scene last year at the state meet posting a trio of top three finishes at the Class 2A state meet highlighted by a state title in the 100.
A multi-sport athlete that also excels in basketball and football, Pedersen won a state title in the 100 in 10.73 last season and added a third-place finish in the 200 in 21.91.
A four-event qualifier at the state meet last season Pedersen anchored the West Branch 4×100 relay team to a third-place finish in 43.05 and was a member of the Bears 4×200 relay team that finished 21st.
Tay Seals
Junior, Clear Creek Amana
One of the top hurdlers in the state Seals among the top rising stars in the state after a stellar sophomore season in which he won a pair of state titles among four top-four finishes at the Class 3A state meet.
A four-event qualifier each of the last two seasons, Seals had his breakthrough a year ago winning titles in the 110 hurdles and shuttle hurdle relay.
Seals won the 3A 110 hurdles in a state meet record time of 13.58 and helped the Clear Creek Amana shuttle hurdle relay team to the 3A title in a time of 57.49.
Seals also added a fourth-place finish in the 100 in a time of 10.74 and was part of the Clippers’ 4×100 relay team that finished fourth in 42.6.
Keegan Decker
Junior, Liberty High
Decker will look to build on the momentum from an incredible cross country season last fall where he established himself as one of the state’s top distance runners.
Last fall Decker finished third at the Class 4A state cross country meet with a time of 14:59 and will look to carry that over to the track this spring.
A two-event qualifier for the 4A state track and field meet each of the past two seasons Decker earned his first career state track medal with a fifth-place finish in the 1,600 last season with a time of 4:13.64.
Decker was 10th in the 3,200 as a freshman two seasons ago and finished 12th last season in the 3,200 in 9:17.04.
This spring Decker already owns the top time in the state in the 3,200 at 8:59.49 and has the second fastest time in the 1,600 at 4:04.33.
Colin Whitters
Senior, West High
An Iowa football recruit, Whitters emerged as one of the best throwers in the state last spring when he posted top-two finishes in both the discus and shot put at the Class 4A state meet.
After finishing seventh in the shot put (51-7 ¾) and eighth in the discus (156-1) as a sophomore in 2024 Whitters had a breakthrough season last season.
Whitters won the Class 4A shot put title with a mark of 57-11 ¼ and added a runner-up finish in the discus with a toss of 169-9.
So far this season Whitters has already posted marks of 53-6 ½ in the shot put and 167-1 in the discus.
James Barnett
Sophomore, West High
While the breakthrough for Whitters came last season Barnett will look for a breakthrough sophomore season after a record-setting debut season a year ago.
Barnett finished third at the Class 4A state meet in the shot put last season with a mark of 53-11 and owns the West High freshman record in the shot put.
Barnett already set the West High sophomore record in the shot put this season with a mark of 56-2 ½ and has a mark of 153-3 in the discus.
Edwin Gangba
Senior, Regina
Keep an eye on Gangba, a four-event qualifier two seasons ago as a sophomore, who will look to cap his career with a strong senior season.
Gangba collected three state medals with a trio of top-five finishes at the Class 2A state meet two seasons ago as a sophomore.
As a sophomore Gangba finished fourth at the state meet in the 200 in 22.72 and helped the Regina 4×200 and 4×100 relays to fifth-place finishes at the state meet.
Last season Gangba placed 12th in the 200 and was a member of the Regina sprint medley relay team that finished 19th at the state meet.
Kaden Hoeper
Junior, Solon
A three-sport standout that also excels in football and basketball Hoeper will look for a breakout season in track and field after a strong sophomore season that concluded with a state medal.
Hoeper finished sixth in the high jump at the Class 3A state track and field meet last season clearing 6-1 and should make big strides this season as a junior.
A versatile athlete, Hoeper is also capable of helping the Spartans on the track as Solon looks to be much improved all around this spring.
Raphael Etuma
Senior, City High
After making a significant jump a year ago Etuma will look to make another big jump this season in his final prep season.
A two-time state qualifier, Etuma picked up the first state medal of his career last spring with a seventh-place finish in the Class 4A discus with a toss of 158-8.
Etuma was also a state qualifier in the discus as a sophomore in 2024 and was a two-event qualifier last season adding an 18th place finish in the shot put with a mark of 47-11 ¼.
Carson Meskimen
Sophomore, Clear Creek Amana
Another athlete poised for a big-time breakthrough this season, Meskimen is coming off a strong cross country season in the fall in which he earned the first state medal of his career.
Meskimen finished 11th at the Class 3A state cross country meet in a time of 16:03.5 and will look to carry that momentum onto the track after qualifying for the state meet in two events last spring as a freshman.
In his debut season last spring Meskimen finished 21st in the Class 3A 1,600 in 4:34.81 and helped the Clear Creek Amana 4×800 relay team to an 11th place finish in a time of 8:08.86.
Meskimen has already clocked a time of 4:38.96 in the 1,600 this spring.
Victor Nakihinga
Junior, Liberty High
Like his teammate Decker, Nakihinga will look for a breakthrough junior season after finishing a strong sophomore campaign with a state medal.
Nakihinga finished sixth in the Class 4A high jump last season clearing 6-3 and has already cleared 6-3 this season.
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