IOWA CITY - Xavier High School senior Nick Steingreaber enjoyed a speedy beginning to the indoor track season Thursday.

Steingreaber captured the 60-meter dash in 6.98 seconds at the Demon Indoor meet at the University of Iowa Recreation Center.

There were a total of 104 sprinters from several dozen schools in the event, leading to numerous heats. Steingreaber beat them all.

"I feel pretty good," he said after blazing to victory. "I just wanted to get out here today, the first meet of the year, and get some work in."

Tavian Smith of Iowa City West finished second in the 60-meter dash in 7.00 seconds.

Steingreaber placed seventh in the 100-meter dash at the Class 4A state meet last year and is looking to move up this season. James Harrington of Cedar Falls, who won the race, has taken his considerable talents to the University of Alabama. All told, the top-5 finishers in the 100-meter state finals graduated.

"Harrington is not here, but there are fast guys still," said Steingreaber. "There's good competition around."

Steingreaber trained this winter at an indoor facility in North Liberty, just as did the previous two years. "It's good to be on a track there instead of in a gym," he said.

In addition to running, Steingreaber said he worked on his strength and flexibility in preparation for his final year of high school track.

Steingreaber wasn't the only Metro winner Thursday. The Linn-Mar Lions showed they'll have another strong team this season with a good showing at the Demon Indoor meet.

Tristan Freese and Austin Flieder, a pair of sophomores, finished 1-2 in the 200-meter dash to steal the show for Linn-Mar. Freese was clocked in 23.14 seconds and Flieder was a tick behind in 23.29 seconds in a spirited battle of teammates.

Chase Grabau placed third in the 800 for Linn-Mar, the 4x400 relay finished fifth, Mike Keiser took sixth in the 60 hurdles and Keegan Cook ran sixth in the 800.

The Kennedy Cougars made the charts with a third-place showing in the sprint medley. Tom Kaiser placed fourth in the 60 hurdles, Willie Rhoads and Shawn Beyer tied for fifth in the high jump, and John Koelling placed eighth in the 200.

Craig Murtha of Xavier finished fourth in the shot put.

Cedar Rapids Prairie competed in the meet but did not have any top-8 performances. Cedar Rapids Washington originally entered the meet, but withdrew and did not compete.

Linn-Mar junior Josh Evans, one of the top distance runners in the state, attended the meet but did not compete. He said he has recovered from injuries that plagued him during the cross country season and plans to make his indoor track debut Monday at a major meet in Ames.

DEMON INDOOR TRACK MEET
UI Recreation Center

WINNERS

4x800 relay - Pleasant Valley 8:19.23.
200 - Tristan Freese, Linn-Mar, 23.14
60 - Nick Steingreaber, Xavier, 6.98.
60 hurdles - Jon Rus, North Scott, 8.30.
800 - Mohamed Traore, IC West, 2:04.91.
High jump - Jeff Giannettino, W.Burlington/Notre Dame, 6-7.
Shot put - Emmett Wester, Mt.Pleasant, 54-10 1/2.
1600 - Bailey Wetherell, IC West, 4:27.65.
Sprint medley - Cedar Falls 3:48.26.
4x400 relay - Monticello 3:32.91.

LINN-MAR RESULTS
Top 8

1st - Tristan Freese, 200, 23.14.
2nd - Austin Flieder, 200, 23.29.
3rd - Chase Grabau, 800, 2:05.33.
5th - 4x400 relay (Austin Flieder, Tristan Freese, Tanner Rathje, Chase
Grabau) 3:38.96.
6th - Mike Keiser, 60 hurdles, 8.82.
6th - Keegan Cook, 800, 2:10.56.

KENNEDY RESULTS
Top 8

3rd - Sprint medley (Alex Hillyer, Famiek Cook, John Koelling, Evan Couch)
3:51.98.
4th - Tom Kaiser, 60 hurdles, 8.78.
5th (tie) - Willie Rhoads, high jump, 6-0.
5th (tie) - Shawn Beyer, high jump, 6-0.
8th - John Koelling, 200, 23.94.


XAVIER RESULTS
Top 8

1st - Nick Steingreaber, 60, 6.98.
4th - Craig Murtha, shot put, 49-5.