Fri - 18 May
Written by Jim Ecker
DES MOINES - First the Drake Relays, now the state meet.
This has turned out to be an exceptional year for the Cedar Rapids Prairie boys track team.
Austin Dellamuth, Jarred Edmonds, Demetrius Harper and Jacob Aune captured the distance medley at the Class 4A state meet Friday afternoon with Aune kicking it home in style on a warm afternoon.
The same quartet won the 4x400 relay at the 103rd Annual Drake Relays last month to give the Hawks two prestigious titles in two different events in less than a month.
"It feels great," said Edmonds. "You couldn't ask for a better year or better people. I love it."
Aune was locked in a tight battle with Cedar Rapids Washington star Robert Hogg and a runner from Marshalltown with about 200 meters left when he made a bold move. He grabbed the lead and began his finishing kick much earlier than planned.
"I knew if I got boxed in there would be no way I could catch Rob, so I decided to move early and stick with it as best I could," he explained.
Instead of possibly fading down the stretch, Aune increased his lead and gave Prairie the victory in 3:28.88 to set a school record and bring in the gold.
"He usually kicks at the 100 mark," marveled Harper, who ran the third leg. "To kick at the 200 mark is unbelieveable."
Dellamuth began the medley with a swift 200 and passed the baton to Edmonds, who upheld his end of the bargain before giving the stick to Harper. It was tight all the way, and Harper raced around the 400-meter oval before handing to Aune for the finish.
"I'm just fortunate to have great teammates to put me in position," said Aune. "I had it in me as long as I believed in myself and believed in my team, and we got it."
Aune collapsed on the track and rested on his back for a few moments before getting to his feet and joining the celebration. "I've never been so dead after a race," he said. "That was tough."
Washington finished third in the medley in 3:31.80 with Mitch Bredeson, Will Griffin, Nick Corbett and Hogg. The Warriors won the medley at the Drake Relays in 3:30.16, but Prairie had the best medley in Des Moines Friday in the state meet.
Washington got six points from the medley and finished Day 2 of the state meet in second place in the team standings with 25 points. Iowa City West leads the 4A pack with 37 points.
The Xavier Saints will enter the final day of the state meet Saturday in sixth place with 18 points. Prairie is 10th with 15 points, the Linn-Mar Lions are 14th with 12 points and the Kennedy Cougars are in 26th place with five points.
Linn-Mar entered the state meet as one of the favorites for the team championship, but the Lions continued to struggle Friday. Brandon Ophoff, seeded No. 1 in the 400 hurdles, finished fourth. Drake Hickok of Washington grabbed third place, a stride ahead of Ophoff.
Linn-Mar sophomore Josh Evans, the top seed in the 3200 meter run, placed seventh in the 3200 on Thursday. The Lions will have to scramble to crack the top-10 in the final team standings on Saturday.
The Xavier boys ran third in the 4x200 relay with Nick Ball, Nick Steingreaber, Cal Stovie and Jordan Weber were clocked in 1:29.06 to continue the Saints' strong showing in Des Moines.
Washington placed fourth in the 4x200 relay with Mitch Bredeson, Braedon Tovey, Griffin and Corbett clocked in 1:29.46, right behind Xavier.
Cedar Rapids Jefferson, hoping to defend its title in the girls 4x200 relay, had to settle for fourth place this season with Maliya Rattliffe, Rachel Broghammer, Taylor Jacobson and Summer Carber doing the work. The same four girls won the event in 2011.
Derek Jacobus of Kennedy finished fourth in the long jump at 22-4 1/2. Two contestants jumped more than 24 feet, the first time that's ever happened in the same state meet.
Washington senior Brooke Foreman, the defending champion in the 400 meter hurdles, battled a breathing problem Friday and finished fifth in the event. Kelsie Coates of Kennedy placed seventh in the 400 hurdles.
Kennedy ran sixth in the girls distance medley with Megan Terukina, Jasmine Raue, Aarionna Craig-Dothard and Kathia Wampole passing the baton. Washington finished eighth in the medley with Foreman, Jasmyne Jones, Taylor Vogel and Shannon Gorman.
Marion placed eighth in the Class 3A girls distance medley with Ellen Cannon, Abby Kolarik, Morgan Kolarik and Allison Scott.
Waukee leads the Class 4A girls standings. Washington is the highest-ranking Metro team in 14th place.
