This time, William Blaser prevails in 4A shot put

DES MOINES — William Blaser had seen this scenario before.

Leading the Class 4A boys' shot put heading into the final throw, with a contestant from Cedar Rapids Kennedy looming.

'Yeah, I did think about it a lot,' said Blaser, a senior from Western Dubuque. 'You never know with a spinner. They can pop one out at any time.'

This time, though, Blaser survived, winning the title at 61 feet, 9 1/4 inches at the state track and field meet Friday at Drake Stadium.

'I really wanted to top my career off with a state title,' he said. 'I was really nervous about (Cedar Rapids Kennedy's Jackson) Coker.'

Last year, Kennedy's Dallas Jacobus passed Blaser on his final throw.

Coker was second Friday at 60 feet even.

'There was definitely a lot of relief' after Coker's final throw fell short, Blaser said. 'I'm glad I got to end like this.'

Blaser's title and a second-place finish by the 800-meter relay team helped Western Dubuque move up in the 4A boys' team standings.

West Des Moines Valley leads it with 53 points, followed by Waukee with 39. Cedar Falls is third with 24, with Western Dubuque and Kennedy tied for fourth with 23.

The final nine events are Saturday.

Western Dubuque was the Drake Relays champion in the 800 relay, but was edged by Waterloo West on Friday. The Wahawks were clocked in 1:27.48, the Bobcats in 1:27.78.

Iowa City West's Austin West was the 400-meter hurdles runner-up, finishing in 53.09 seconds. Nathan Hoy of Cedar Falls won it in 52.57.

'I knew the guy next to me in Lane 8 was going to go out hard, and I had to stick with him,' West said. 'The ninth hurdle came up fast and I got close to hitting it. Other than that, it was a good race.'

Marty Borseth of Cedar Rapids Prairie was third in the long jump, sailing 21 feet, 11 1/4 inches.

Prairie's Joah Banks set the all-time Iowa best in the 110-meter hurdles, running 13.91 in the preliminaries into a slight headwind. He will compete in the finals at 1:15 Saturday afternoon.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson sent its team home Friday morning after 'some discipline issues' at the hotel Thursday night, according to Jefferson Athletics Director Chris Deam.

'We're done for the weekend,' Deam confirmed.

STATE TRACK & FIELD: 4A BOYS

Teams (through 10 events) — 1. West Des Moines Valley 53, 2. Waukee 39, 3. Cedar Falls 24, 4. (tie) Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Western Dubuque 23, 6. (tie) Iowa City West and Johnston 22, 8. Bettendorf 20, 9. Waterloo West 18, 10. West Des Moines Dowling 17.

Results (top 3 and area placewinners)

Long jump — 1. Kevin Kurth (Davenport Central), 22-3 1/2; 2. Tariq Brown (West Des Moines Valley), 22-2; 3. Marty Borseth (Cedar Rapids Prairie), 21-11 1/4.

800 relay — 1. Waterloo West (Tudor, Arndorfer, Todd, Cooper), 1:27.48; 2. Western Dubuque, 1:27.78; 3. Ankeny Centennial, 1:27.81; 4. Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 1:28.25.

400 hurdles — 1. Nathan Hoy (Cedar Falls), 52.57; 2. Austin West (Iowa City West), 53.09; 3. Wade Barclay (Southeast Polk), 53.35; 4. Alex Kauffmann (Western Dubuque), 53.42; 8. Nick House (Linn-Mar), 55.00.

Shot put — 1. William Blaser (Western Dubuque), 61-9 1/4; 2. Jackson Coker (Cedar Rapids Kennedy), 60-0; 3. Bedale Naba (West Des Moines Valley), 57-9 1/4.

Distance medley relay — 1. West Des Moines Dowling (Lyman, Peterson, Johnson, Fraizer), 3:27.74; 2. Indianola, 3:28.37; 3. Waukee, 3:29.78.

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