DES MOINES - Josh Evans is running free and easy again.

The grimaces have been replaced by grins, the pain supplanted by pleasure.

Evans ran a strong race Thursday and captured the 3200 meter run at the Class 4A state track meet, taking command early and holding off all challengers.

Metro runners also collected a pair of silver medals Thursday. Tristan Beyer of Prairie placed second in the 400 meter dash and Craig Murtha of Xavier finished second in the Class 4A discus.

Evans enjoys running again after battling hip and back injuries during the cross country season. He took two months off this winter, giving his ailing back a chance to recover, and he's been judicious in his choice of races this spring.

The Linn-Mar junior learned to listen to his body.

"That injury kind of motivated me to take every race and treat it like something special," he said. "I'm trying to give everything I can."

Evans ran away with the 3200 in 9 minutes, 13.34 seconds. Caleb Drake of Pleasant Valley finished second in 9:16.95.

Evans began to pull away from Drake on the fifth lap. He took a glance at the giant video board at Drake Stadium and liked what he saw on the screen.

"I kicked in the surge and he fell back a little bit. I was like, 'Cool,'" he said.

Tyler Henson of Bettendorf began the race quickly and took an early 20-yard lead, but Evans did not take the bait and waited a lap before making his initial move. Henson quickly tired and fell off the pace as Evans shot by.

"I didn't really worry about him," he said. "I kind of had a big-5 list (of opponents) I was watching out for. If those guys had started out like that I would have responded a little quicker.

"I think the kid got caught up in the moment and made a run for it. I wasn't really worried about it."

Evans won the 1600 meter run at the Drake Relays last month and will be aiming for the Class 4A 1600 on Saturday. He plans to run in the 800 and a relay also on Saturday.

Evans has received numerous letters from major colleges after setting a record in the 1600 meter run at the Drake Relays. He's only a junior, so college coaches cannot begin talking to him until July 1 according to NCAA rules.

"They're looking forward to talking to me in July," he said. "That's pretty cool."

Beyer chopped more than a second off his personal record in the 400 meter dash and held the lead for much of the race Thursday, but Deshond Robinson of Clinton nipped him at the wire. Robinson was clocked in 48.71 seconds and Beyer was a shade behind in 48.85. Both runners are juniors and could meet again.

"He's good. He's fast," said Beyer. "I knew he was coming up on me. He just got me at the end. I'll go for him next year."

Beyer dedicated himself to winning the 400 this year. "I'm heartbroken right now. I really wanted that," he said.

He plans to work even harder in pursuit of the title, using his second-place finish as motivation.

"Oh yeah," he said. "You have no idea. My list is already filled of what I've got to do."

John Koelling of Kennedy finished third in the 400 in 49.473 seconds. Nick Corbett of Washington, who placed second in the 400 last year, finished fourth this time in 49.477.

Murtha claimed his silver medal in the discus with a heave of 173 feet, 2 inches.

Willie Rhoads of Kennedy finished third in the high jump at 6 feet, 4 inches.

Perrion Scott of Linn-Mar had the fastest qualifying times in the 100 and 200 meter dashes Thursday with swift clockings of 11.14 and 22.00.

Koelling qualified fifth in the 200 in 22.26 seconds. Mitch Bredeson of Washington qualified eighth in the 100. Nick Steingreaber of Xavier scratched in the 100 prelims.

Linn-Mar finished seventh in the 4x800 relay with Chase Grabau, Tanner Rathje, Duggan Trenary and Daniel Murphy.

Kennedy had the fastest qualifying time in the shuttle hurdle relay with Tom Kaiser, Derek Jacobus, Marcus Perkins and Famiek Cook timed in 56.85. Linn-Mar had the fifth-best time of 58.64 with Mike Keiser, Rhys Davis, Keegan Cook and Tristan Freese.

Devin LeBeau of Marion finished third in the preliminaries of the 100 meter dash in Class 3A and advanced to the finals in 11.37 seconds. The Indians qualified fourth in the shuttle hurdle relay in 58.74 seconds with Isaac Frazier, Cedrick Williams, Andrew Davis and Quinn Cannoy.

Cedar Falls leads the Class 4A standings with 17 points. Iowa City High, Iowa City West and Clinton are tied for second with 16 points. Kennedy is tied for sixth place (12 points), Linn-Mar is eighth (11 points), Xavier and Prairie are tied for 11th (8 points) and Washington is 14th (5 points).

The meet continues Friday and Saturday.

CLASS 4A BOYS STATE TRACK MEET
At Des Moines (Drake Stadium)

Thursday

Team standings (through five events)
1. Cedar Falls 17, 2. (tie) Iowa City High, Iowa City West, Clinton 16, 5. Dubuque Hempstead 13, 6. (tie) CR Kennedy, Pleasant Valley 12, 8. Linn-Mar 11, 9. Burlington 10, 10. Waukee 9, 11. (tie) CR Xavier, CR Prairie 8, 13. Lewis Central 6, 14. (tie) CR Washington, Bettendorf, WDM Dowling 5, 17. (tie) WDM Valley, Davenport Central, Johnston 4, 21. Indianola 3, 22. (tie) Fort Dodge, Mason City 2, 24. (tie) DM East, Muscatine, DM Roosevelt 1

Finals
High Jump
1. Justin Randall (Burlington) 6-8, 2. Kalund Brown (Cedar Falls) 6-5, 3. Willie Rhoads (CR Kennedy) 6-4, 4. (tie) Brady Ernst (Clinton), Marquise Busch (Cedar Falls), Jared Seay (Johnston) 6-2, 7. Will Carr (Clinton) 6-2, 8. Malik Denny (DM Roosevelt) 6-2
Also - 10t. Shaun Beyer (CR Kennedy) 6-2

Discus
1. Joseph Weiner (Hempstead) 182-3, 2. Craig Murtha (CR Xavier) 173-2, 3. Jacob Barents (Lewis Central) 164-5, 4. Jacob Hayes (Bettendorf) 161-7, 5. Colton Tracy (CB Abe Lincoln) 160-9, 6. Ross Reynolds (Waukee) 159-3, 7. Connor Hubbard (Fort Dodge) 157-1, 8. Drake Kulick (Muscatine) 152-3
Also - 20. Wesley Ennis (CR Washington) 132-11

3200 Meters
1. Josh Evans (Linn-Mar) 9:13.34, 2. Caleb Drake (Pleasant Valley) 9:16.95, 3. Brook Price (IC High) 9:22.43, 4. Isaac Jensen (IC West) 9:22.91, 5. Ben Anderson (WDM Valley) 9:25.74, 6. Zach Freund (Hempstead) 9:29.18, 7. Jaime Zarate (Cedar Falls) 9:30.21, 8. Timothy Sevcik (Cedar Falls) 9:31.28
Also - 9. Mitch Pritts (CR Prairie) 9:37.06, -- Isaiah Vlasek (CR Prairie) DNF

4x800 Relay
1. Iowa City High 7:48.06, 2. Iowa City West 7:49.64, 3. Waukee 7:50.02, 4. Dowling 7:54.26, 5. Pleasant Valley 7:55.99, 6. Indianola 7:57.40, 7. Mason City 7:59.95, 8. Linn-Mar (Chase Grabau. Tanner Rathje, Duggan Trenary, Daniel Murphy) 8:00.64
Also - 15. CR Prairie (Mitch Pritts, Jake Moore, Connor Neuhaus, Tysen VanDraska) 8:11.88, 20. CR Washington (Trevor Luebe, Trevor Thulin, Sam Kline, Ian Klopfenstein) 8:25.72, 21. CR Xavier (Evan Gradoville, Ben Valentine, Patrick Mullin, Brandon Gradoville) 8:26.17

400 Meters
1. Deshond Robinson (Clinton) 48.71, 2. Tristan Beyer (CR Prairie) 48.85, 3. John Koelling (CR Kennedy) 49.473, 4. Nicolas Corbett (CR Washington) 49.477, 5. Cameron Pugh (Dav. Central) 49.48, 6. Ahmed Noureldaim (IC West) 49.51, 7. Nick DeBuhr (Cedar Falls) 49.44, 8. Terrence Karla (DM East) 50.01
Also - 14. Timauntay Jones (CR Jefferson) 50.54

Preliminaries
Metro qualifiers
(DNQ - Did not qualify)

100 Meters
1. Perrion Scott (Linn-Mar) 11.14
8. Mitch Bredeson (CR Washington) 11.32
DNQ - 12. Demetrius Harper (CRP) 11.43, -- Brandon Jeffries (LM) FS

200 Meters
1. Perrion Scott (Linn-Mar) 22.00
5. John Koelling (CR Kennedy) 22.26
DNQ - 15. Dylan Chittick (CRJ) 22.79

Shuttle Hurdle Relay
1. CR Kennedy (Tom Kaiser, Derek Jacobus, Marcus Perkins, Famiek Cook) 56.85
5. Linn-Mar (Mike Keiser, Rhys Davis, Keegan Cook, Tristan Freese) 58.64
DNQ - 9. Prairie (Keagan Pinter, Jarred Edmonds, Mitch Dellamuth, Haakon Wilz) 58.87, 20. Jefferson (Blake Bernauer, Savaun Bounds, Dakota Tomkins, Mason Furnish) 1:02.85