Linn-Mar's Josh Evans has been working his way back slowly after suffering leg and back injuries at the end of the cross country season.

He was limited to one event at Saturday's 54th edition of the John Ask Relays on a windy, rainy afternoon at Kingston Stadium in Cedar Rapids. But the junior made the most of that event, breaking a mark that had stood since 1978.

Evans dueled for three laps of the 1600-meter run with Iowa City West's Bailey Wetherell before breaking away over the final 400 meters to win in 4 minutes, 23.90 seconds. The time broke the old meet standard of 4:24.5 set by Waterloo East's Todd Paverill in 1978, and it was a surprise to Evans.

"I thought I was running slower than that," he said. "With the wind blowing and my legs kinda burning I didn't think I would be able to run a 4:23. I thought I was in the 4:25-4:26 range."

The fact that Wetherell was able to stay with Evans so long was key for him breaking the meet record under less than ideal conditions.

"My goal is to try and lead most of the race," Evans said. "(Wetherell) really took it out hard and it was all that I could do to stay with him. It's all thanks to him that I got that time or I would have been way back."

Evans' performance was the top individual effort in the seven-team meet.

Iowa City West won just four of the 18 events but used its superior depth to take the team title for the third straight year. The Trojans finished with 139 points, easily outdistancing Cedar Rapids Kennedy (91) and Cedar Rapids Prairie (79).

The injury at the end of cross country season has changed Evans' approach to running.

"Mentally (the injury) helped me set some priorities in my life," he said. "I think it was an injury that made me think and now I am feeling pretty healthy."

After a runnerup state finish as a sophomore in cross country and a third-place finish in the 1600 at the state track meet, Evans battled through the injuries to finish ninth last fall in cross country. His original injury was to his left leg. Then he injured his right hip and it eventually developed into a torn muscle in his back.

In the past, Evans' instincts were to simply push through the pain. Experience has changed his approach if he feels any discomfort.

"I am a little more prone to taking days off now," he admitted. "If something is achy, I will try and rest and ice it. I am still training real hard, just trying to be smart about it."

As a concession to the conditions and the fact it is early in the season, Evans ran just one race. He fully expects to be running a full load of events soon. He was a Drake Relays qualifier in the 1600 and 3200 last year.

"It is still early and this was the first (outdoor) meet, so Coach didn't want to push it too hard," Evans said. "Today the goal was to get a good 1600 under my belt. As we get to the bigger meets, I will start running in both distance races."

Close behind Evans as a meet standout was Cedar Rapids Washington's Nick Corbett, who took home top honors in  the 200 and his speciality, the 400, where he ran an impressive 49.82.

Kennedy got wins from Derek Jacobus in the long jump and Willie Rhoads in the high jump en route to the runnerup finish in the team race.

Host Jefferson saw Northern Iowa signee Timauntay Jones win the 800 in 2:01.05.

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Iowa City West 139, 2. Kennedy 91, 3. Prairie 79, 4. (tie) Linn-Mar 75; Washington 75, 6. Jefferson 73, 7. Bettendorf 26.

HIGH JUMP

1. Willie Rhoads (CRK) 6-2, 2. Jeremy Morgan (ICW) 5-10, 3. Jake Hayles (Bett) 5-8, 4. Shawn Beyer (CRK) 5-8, 5. Andrew LeFebre (CRW) 5-2, 6. Carlos Nelson (CRW) 5-2.

LONG JUMP

1. Derek Jacobus (CRK) 22-0 1/2, 2. Famiek Cook (CRK) 21-9, 3. Andrew Gilbaugh (ICW) 19-11, 4. Demetrius Harper (CRP) 19-10, 5. Reid Bonner (ICW) 18-11, 6. Jarred Edmonds (CRP) 18-0 1/2.

DISCUS

1. Wesley Ennis (CRW) 131-3, 2. Clay Moel (ICW) 131-1, 3. David Hynek (CRK) 129-2, 4. Zach Gillis (CRW) 127-1 1/2, 5. Wade Webster (Bett) 123-8, 6. Colton Spicer (CRJ) 122-11.

SHOT PUT

1. Josh Williams (CRP) 47-1, 2. Jacob Hayes (Bett) 47-0, 3. Wade Webster (Bett) 45-11 1/2, 4. Drew Heitland (CRK) 45-11, 5. Zach Gillis (CRW) 44-9 1/2, 6. Jeff Ruhlow (ICW) 43-7.

3200

1. Isaac Jensen (ICW) 9:44.46, 2. Mitch Pritts (CRP) 9:55.07, 3. Joe Berry (CRW) 9:58.63, 4. Isaiah Vlasek (CRP) 9:59.44, 5. Daniel Murphy (LM) 10:18.79, 6. Tyler Henson (Bett) 10:29.12.

4x800 RELAY

1. Iowa City West 8:40.59, 2. Linn-Mar 8:58.72, 3. Jefferson 9:15.62, 4. Kennedy 9:26.78, 5. Prairie 9:31.82, 6. Bettendorf 9:41.19.

SHUTTLE HURDLE RELAY

1. Prairie (Mitch Dellamuth, Jarred Edmons, Keagan Pinter, Haakon Wilz) 59.51, 2. Kennedy 59.81, 3. Linn-Mar 1:00.02, 4. Iowa City West 1:04.36, 5. Washington 1:04.96, 6. Jefferson 1:05.14.

100

1. Perrion Scott (LM) 11.07, 2. Nate Karlan (CRJ) 11.09, 3. Mitch Bredeson (CRW) 11.10, 4. Dylan Chittick (CRJ) 11.17, 5. Marcus Perkins (CRK) 11.22, 6. Jacob Sanderson (ICW) 11.53.

400

1. Nick Corbett (CRW) 49.82, 2. Ahmed Noureldaim (ICW) 51.16, 3. Matt Feeley (ICW) 52.45, 4. Trevor Luebe (CRW) 52.81, 5. John Koelling (CRK) 53.49, 6. Tanner Rathje (LM) 53.81.

WHEELCHAIR 400

1. Jordan Houdeshell (LM) 1:15.18.

4x200 RELAY

1. Jefferson (Nate Karlan, Dylan Chittick, Jordan Selby, Dan Larson) 1:33.11, 2. Kennedy 1:33.89, 3. Prairie 1:34.16, 4. Linn-Mar 1:34.26, 5.Washington 1:35.29, 6. Iowa City West 1:36.46.

110 HURDLES

1. Haakon Wilz (CRP) 14.84, 2. Andrew Gilcaugh (ICW) 14.89, 3. Mike Keiser (LM) 15.12, 4. Tom Kaiser (CRK) 15.51, 5. Savaun Bounds (CRJ) 15.63, 6. Elliot Young (ICW) 16.10.

1600

1. Josh Evans (LM) 4:23.90, 2. Bailey Wetherell (ICW) 4:27.88, 3. Daniel Gardarsson (ICW) 4:37.63, 4. Chase Grabau (LM) 4;43.74, 5. Tysen VanDraska (CRP) 4:47.60, 6. Joe Berry (CRW) 4:47.70.

200

1. Nick Corbett (CRW) 23.51, 2. Andrew Gilbaugh (ICW) 23.69, 3. Wally Parks (ICW) 24.12, 4. John Koelling (CRK) 24.15, 5. Jacob Shannon (CRK) 24.24, 6. Jordan Selby (CRJ) 24.56.

WHEELCHAIR 200

1. Jordan Houdeshell (LM) 40.38.

400 HURDLES

1. Matt Feeley (ICW) 57.12, 2. Lucas Vanous (CRJ) 57.18, 3. Haakon Wilz (CRP) 59.49, 4. Marcus Perkins (CRK) 59.88, 5. Isaiah Nimmers (CRW) 1:00.76, 6. Tavion Stewart (CRW) 1:01.09.

SPRINT MEDLEY

1. Iowa City West 3:41.00, 2. Prairie 3:46.45, 3. Linn-Mar 3:55.72, 4. Jefferson 4:10.32, 5. Kennedy 4:12.32, 6. Bettendorf 4:16.14.

800

1. Timauntay Jones (CRJ) 2:01.05, 2. Bailey Wetherell (ICW) 2:02.70, 3. Tanner Rathje 9LM) 2:03.38, 4. Trevor Luebe (CRW) 2:04.02, 5. Greyson Dolezal (LM) 2:07.11, 6. Cole Hatzky (ICW) 2:09.60.

4x100 RELAY

1. Jefferson (Shaquille Harbor, Jordan Selby, Dylan Chittick, Nate Karlan) 44.50, 2. Kennedy 44.99, 3. Prairie 45.32, 4. Iowa City West 45.48, 5. Washington 45.51, 6. Bettendorf 45.94.

4x400 RELAY

1. Linn-Mar (Austin Flieder, Tristan Freese, Ryan Wirth, Chase Grabau) 3:37.74, 2. Jefferson 3:41.19, 3. Washington 3;43.46, 4. Iowa City West 3:43.61, 5. Prairie 3:46.05, 6. Kennedy 3:46.74.