Photo: Kevin Moorhead/MileSplit Iowa
- - -
Although a few had already gotten their season underway over August's final weekend, the rest of Iowa made their 2026 debuts this past weekend, and just like that, we have two talented names at the top of the state leaderboards.
Last September, Kuma Gutema became the third-fastest sophomore in high school history after finishing third overall at the 2025 Augustana Twilight meet. He ran 14:30.84 in a race that saw seven athletes break 14:50 and nearly 40 more break 16:00. In his third trip to Sioux Falls, Gutema finally left with a win, narrowly holding off two hometown favorites, Washington's Cole Reilly and Lincoln's Tyrus Needles, who ran 14:53.82 and 14:54.97, respectively. Gutema has already solidified himself as one of the top returners in Iowa and will hold the No. 1 spot until someone can take him down head-to-head.
After opening her season in 17:54.2 and winning by nearly two and a half minutes, Natalie Anderson, a MOC-Floyd Valley senior, held her own in South Dakota. She finished runner-up to Ruby Ihmels (Century), who ran the No. 4 time nationwide last weekend. Anderson found herself in no man's land over the course of the 3.1-mile race, eventually crossing the line by herself in 17:10.88, 11 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
Anderson's runner-up finish also marked a 34-second improvement on her lifetime best, making her the sixth-fastest Iowan in state history. She can join a very small club of sub-17 runners if she can shave 11 seconds off her time between now and November. She also became the fastest Iowan in course history, moving past Kaia Downs (Sioux City East), who ran 18:24.37 in 2019.