Dramatic relay win for Prairie

DES MOINES — Mitch Pritts ran the race of his life in the 3,200-meter run Thursday morning.

But the best was still awaiting him.

Pritts returned less than 2 hours later to lead off Cedar Rapids Prairie's 3,200-meter relay, and the Hawks won the Class 4A boys' title on Tysen VanDraska's dramatic anchor leg at the state track meet at Drake Stadium.

'Tysen, he's a little bulldog on the straightaway,' Pritts said. 'He's a good finisher.'

How good? How about 1:52.0? That was enough to push the Hawks past Iowa City West and Cedar Falls.

That anchor was 4 seconds faster than VanDraska's previous best.

'No, I didn't see that coming,' he said. 'I've come from behind before, so I figured, 'Why not try it again?'

'I just couldn't give it up for these guys.'

Matt Lorenz and Ross Adams ran the middle two legs for the Hawks.

Cedar Falls led the race as it went to the final straightaway. But West's Kaleb Greiner raced to the lead, then VanDraska passed him in the final three strides.

The Hawks were clocked in 7:49.52, West in 7:49.93.

Prairie finished the first day in second place in the 4A boys' team standings.

Through five events, Clinton leads with 22 points, followed by Prairie (21), Johnston (19), Linn-Mar (16) and Cedar Falls (14).

Pritts started the day with in the middle of a 1-2-3 Metro finish in the 3,200.

Linn-Mar star Josh Evans won it in a state-record 9:00.97. Pritts edged Linn-Mar's Daniel Murphy, 9:12.07 to 9:12.46.

'I knew if I had the turnover, I would have a shot at (breaking 9 minutes),' said Evans, who will run at Iowa State next year. 'I was a little too mentally weak. With about 800 to go, I felt I wouldn't be able to do it.'

Still, Evans' effort was the best 3,200 of his career.

'I didn't care if I won by a half-second. I just care about the team more than anything,' he said. 'Then Murph came in and scored six more.'

Pritts said he 'was a little sore' after his 3,200 — which was 15 seconds better than his former personal best.

'I tried to stay as focused as I could between races,' he said. 'These guys helped cover for me.'

Shaun Beyer of Cedar Rapids Kennedy was third in the high jump, clearing 6 feet, 4 inches, while Landen Akers of Cedar Rapids Washington placed third in the 400 meters at 48.91 seconds.

Kennedy set a state-meet record in the preliminaries of the shuttle hurdle relay, and the Cougars' effort of 56.12 seconds was just off the all-time Iowa best (56.09), also set by Kennedy, in 2010.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@sourcemedia.net