Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – In addition to excelling on the track and the football field Austin West has spent his summers as an important piece of the West High pitching staff.

In his time as a high school hurler West has never tossed the elusive perfect game but he got the track and field equivalent on Thursday at Raffensperger Track and City High.

West collected four golds, including three individual titles, while helping West High to the team title at the 46th Annual Forwald/Coleman Relays.

“Really, I think it went about as well as it could have,” West said after punctuating his meet with a win in the 4×400 relay. “It was pretty close to being perfect.”

West won the long jump and 400 and set a school-record in the 400 hurdles with a winning time of 52.39.

The senior standout capped his near perfect meet by anchoring the Trojans’ 4×400 relay team to a title.

“That’s exactly of what we ask for one of our top guys, win four events and run them as well as you can,” West High coach TJ Craig said. “A school record in the 400 hurdles, a 48 split in the 4×400, a long jump win it just gets better and better.”

Junior Gabe Caruthers completed a sweep of the 100 and 200 and joined West as a four-event winner as West High won its third consecutive Forwald/Coleman team title.

West High won six events and added three runner-up finishes while outdistancing West Des Moines Valley for the team title.

Landon Green won the shot put, Kolby Greiner won the 3,200 and the Trojans won the sprint medley relay while racking up 160.5 points, to finish 32.5 clear of West Des Moines Valley.

Linn-Mar was third with 105, half a point in front of fourth-place Pleasant Valley and City High was fifth with 82.

“It’s the last meet before Drake, it’s on City High’s field, it’s a special environment and all of that comes together on one night and we absolutely love it,” Craig said. “All the way around we just have a lot of guys that care an awful lot about each other. It’s a good close-knit team that care a lot about winning and care a lot about having a good time.”

On a night when the Trojans got contributions from everyone it was West that stood out.

The senior won the long jump with a mark of 22-1 and claimed the 400 in a hand-clocked time of 49.63.

He saved his best for the 400 hurdles when he raced to a win in a West High record time of 52.39.

The Iowa recruit finished more than two seconds in front of runner-up Zach Jones of City High and his time of 52.39 just .08 off the meet record time run by his future college coach Joey Woody as a City High prep in 1992.

“The 400 hurdles was focus, I wanted to get a good time in going into Drake,” West said. “That was a big confidence booster and when I get to Drake I am looking forward to an even faster time.”

Caruthers matched West with four golds.
The junior won the 100 (11.29) and was impressive in winning the 200 crown in 22.32.

“I’m always happy to take a nice win,” Caruthers said. “To come out here and run the 100, an event I’ve just started dabbling in, and to take a win in that and of course to take a win in my main event it’s always a good day.”

Caruthers anchored the West High sprint medley team to a title in a meet-record time of 1:34.72 and ran on the Trojans’ winning 4×400 squad.

“I’m always geared up for a good 4×400,” Caruthers said. “The performance we had last year set the tone that West High is coming for another W and we took it.”

The other meet record for West High came in the shot put as Green won with a career-best mark of 56-11.

Green’s mark broke the meet record of 56-3 ½ set last season by Bedale Naba of West Des Moines Valley.

“I felt good today,” Green said. “I’ve been consistent the last couple of meets but tonight I felt really comfortable and popped a big throw.”

Greiner added a title in the 3,200 in 9:35.24 while Jonathan Gannon was runner-up in both the shot put and discus.

Jones led City High with a runner-up finish the 400 hurdles and a third-place mark in the 400 in 51.66.

He also ran on the Little Hawks 4×400 relay squad that placed third in 3:25.37 and on the seventh-place shuttle hurdle relay team.

Forwald/Coleman Relays

At City High

Team scores – 1. West High 160.5; 2. West Des Moines Valley 128; 3. Linn-Mar 105; 4. Pleasant Valley 104.5; 5. City High 82; 6. Cedar Rapids Prairie 81; 7. Marion 52; 8. Muscatine 25.

Individual Results

(Winners; Area Placewinners)

100 – 1. Gabe Caruthers (ICW) 11.29; 4. Davonte Foster (ICH) 11.35; 6. Dante Eldridge (ICW) 11.52.

200 – 1. Gabe Caruthers (ICW) 22.32; 3. Max DePrenger (ICH) 23.17; 8. Dante Eldridge (ICW) 23.86

400 – 1. Austin West (ICW) 49.63; 3. Zach Jones (ICH) 51.66; 5. Ethan McAreavy (ICW) 52.21.

800 – 1. Anthony Pena (PV) 1:57.89; 3. Daniel Brown (ICH) 1:58.71; 4. Jeff Garbutt (ICW) 1:59.38; 5. James Momberg (ICH) 1:59.74;

1,600 – 1. Jeremy Fopma (MAR) 4:24.14; 8. Caden Turnbough (ICH) 4:40.86

3,200 – 1. Kolby Greiner (ICW) 9:35.24; 6. Ry Threlkeld-Wiegand (ICH) 9:58.89; 8. Quenton Max (ICH) 10:07.86

110 hurdles – 1. Trent Davis (LM) 14.76; 2. Cole Mabry (ICW) 15.32; 4. Oisin Leopold (ICH) 15.74

400 hurdles – 1. Austin West (ICW) 52.39; 2. Zach Jones (ICH) 54.87; 4. Cole Mabry (ICW) 56.27.

Sprint medley relay – 1. West High (Jackson Steburg, Andre White, Cole Mabry, Gabe Caruthers) 1:34.72; 3. City High (Malik Kimber, Bryce Hunger, Max DePrenger, Daniel Brown) 1:35.79.

Distance medley relay – 1. Linn-Mar 3:42.09; 4. West High (Devlin Lockman, Caden Fedeler, Mason Sorge, Osman Salama) 3:49.78; 6. City High (Tahj Williamson, Luke Young, Sila Luinda, Charlie Maxwell) 3:54.75.

Shuttle hurdle relay – 1. Linn-Mar 59.71; 4. West High (Caden Fedeler, Cole Mabry, Jason Lu, Keyshawn Trice) 1:03.57; 7. City High (Malik Kimber, Zach Jones, Max DePrenger, Oisin Leopold) 1:05.13.

4×100 – 1. West Des Moines Valley 43.93; 4. West High (Dante Eldridge, Devlin Lockman, Jackson Steburg, Andre White) 45.05;

4×200 – 1. West Des Moines Valley 1:31.78; 5. West High (Jackson Steburg, Andre White, Joe Dixon, Seybian Sims) 1:33.46; 7. City High (Malik Kimber, Cole Milder, Bryce Hunger, Tahj Williamson) 1:36.51.

4×400 – 1. West High (Ethan McAreavy, Seybian Sims, Gabe Caruthers, Austin West) 3:23.44; 3. City High (Daniel Brown, JP Rethwisch, Lucas Firmstone, Zach Jones) 3:25.37.

4×800 – 1. Cedar Rapids Prairie 8:03.58; 3. West High (Ethan McAreavy, Ian Prescott, Raymond Yang, Jeff Garbutt) 8:22.54; 4. City High (James Momberg, Caden Turnbough, Olivier Shabani, Lucas Firmstone) 8:26.6.

Long jump – 1. Austin West (ICW) 22-1; 4. Maisha Sila (ICH) 20-0 ¼.

High jump – 1. Blair Brooks (MAR) 6-4 ¼; 7. Tevon Williamson (ICH) 5-10; 8. Doug Burtch (ICH) 5-10.

Shot put – 1. Landon Green (ICW) 56-11; 2. Jonathan Gannon (ICW) 52-1; 6. Quinton Runge (ICH) 46-3.

Discus – 1. Kaden Schilling (CRP) 165-5; 2. Jonathan Gannon (ICW) 161-8; 5. Ethan Postler (ICW) 134-8; 7. Levi Sherod (ICH) 131-0