Top Boys Performances
Dawson Ellingson had an incredible weekend in field events when he not only won the 1A Shot Put with a throw of 59-05, but won the 1A Discus with a throw of 179-2, by far the best throw out of anyone during the weekend. In fact, his throw was more than 30-feet farther than the next best athlete, something that certainly doesn't happen often.
Riley Moss, arguably one of Iowa's best all-around athletes this year also had an excellent weekend. It started out as potentially heartbreaking when Moss fell in the prelims of the 110 meter hurdles. He made it in on time as the fourth-best athlete going into the final with a 15.03. The finals proved to be Moss's time to shine when the Ankeny Centennial senior ran 14.02-- not quite the All-Time Best of 13.85 we saw him run at the Drake Relays earlier this season, but still an incredible feat for the University of Iowa football commit. Moss was also a member of the Jaguar's 2nd-place 4x100 meter relay team.
In the 4A Boys 1600 meter run it was a battle of Ankeny athletes. Camden Cox of Ankeny Centennial took the win in the event by out-kicking Ankeny's Tim Sindt in 4:18.36 and 4:18.70, respectively. Though he placed second, the race was very inspiring for Sindt's fans and spectators. After winning the 4A Cross Country title back in the fall, Sindt started suffering from increased heart rate, dizziness, and trouble breathing. He was later diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White, a condition in which the heart has one or more extra electrical pathways, causing an abnormal heart rhythm. He ended up needing surgery during the winter months, hindering some of his winter training.
One of the weekend's most exciting events for spectators was the Boys 4A 200 meter dash. The race featured three of Iowa's biggest football recruits - Darien Porter, a receiver recruited to Iowa State who placed 3rd in 21.93; Max Duggan, a quarterback recruited to TCU place fourth in 22.02; and Gavin Williams who is a four-star 2020 running back and finished 8th in 22.64.
Gable Sieperda capped off his high school career with some strong performances. For the past few years, the 1A distance events at the State meet have been a battle between him and Riley Bauer of North Union. Sieperda started out the weekend with a win in the 1A Boys 3200 with a time of 9:09.60, by far the fastest time of the weekend in the event and a personal best for the ISU commit; Bauer took 3rd in 9:33.72. Bauer, the South Dakota State recruit took the win in the 1A Boys 800-meter run with a blazing time of 1:52.10, followed by Sieperda in 1:53.58. Sieperda came back with a vengeance in the 1600- his first time winning the title in the event- in a time of 4:13.78, followed by Bauer who finished in 4:23.74. Sieperda's time was the top male performance in the event for the weekend, and got himself a personal all-time best. It was an exciting battle throughout the weekend for the two seniors, and was a great way for each to cap off their high school careers.
Tanner Iske came home with not only a win in the 2A Boys 100 Meter Dash, but could also boast a State Record in the event for that division. The West Liberty athlete clocked a time of 10.58 to win over Noah Anderson of PCM who finished in 10.93. Iske's time was the fastest in the finals of the event over the weekend.
Evan Correll of Waukee was the star of the wheelchair races taking the wins in both the 100 and 200 meter wheelchair runs. He finished in 18.23 in the 100 and 36.53 in the 200.
It was another excellent year with jaw dropping performances, beautiful weather, and great improvements. It was a perfect start to a full summer of competitive track and field, with USA's and AAU Nationals coming up later this season! Stay tuned for all of the action!