Home meet 'a pretty big deal' for Central City

CENTRAL CITY — Many schools this size don't have an all-weather track. Some don't have a track at all.

Central City High School does now, and is ready to show it off for many to see.

State-qualifying track and field meets (districts for boys, regionals for girls) are Thursday across the state, and Central City has been designated as one of 12 sites for Class 1A.

'When we found out in February that we were going to host, it was a pretty big deal for us,' said Matt Weis, the Wildcats' boys track coach and the school's athletics director. 'We've put in a lot of work into our outdoor facilities.'

The new track and renovated football complex is one of several notable improvements in the district.

'We put in a new bus garage and air conditioning in the elementary school,' Weis said. 'We really considered putting Field Turf on our football field, but as the project grew, we opted to do what was best use for all of our students.'

This is Year 2 for the new track. Last year, it hosted the Tri-Rivers Conference middle-school meet and a small high-school invitational. This year, Central City was the host site for the TRC high-school meet.

'It's a nice facility,' North Linn girls' coach Bob Mudd said. 'We really liked it. It's neat that they have electronic timing, so you can see all the times on the scoreboard after the race.'

Only two of the Tri-Rivers' 13 schools have all-weather tracks, and Central City's is the only eight-lane oval. Maquoketa Valley has a six-lane circuit.

All state qualifiers begin at 4 p.m. Thursday with field events, with running events starting at 4:30.

In Class 4A, the top two in each event automatically advance to the state meet, along with the next 12 best efforts statewide. In 2A and 3A, it's the top two from each site plus eight at-large. In 1A, only the champions qualify automatically, plus 12 at-large.

The state meet is May 19-21 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

Metro 4A schools are divided between sites at Marshalltown (Jefferson, Kennedy and Washington) and Iowa City West (Linn-Mar and Prairie, plus West and City High). Xavier and Marion will compete in a 3A meet at Solon.

It's one thing to have a track, but it's another to put on a quality track meet. Weis said the faculty and community has jumped aboard to volunteer for Thursday's event.

'We've got a lot of workers eager to help,' he said. 'This is something we take a lot of pride in.

'A lot of schools are losing kids. Hopefully one way we can grow is because our facilities.'

The 13-team field at Central City features Lisbon, the defending 1A boys' state champion. Center Point-Urbana won the 3A boys' title last year. The Stormin' Pointers will compete at Charles City.

PREP TRACK & FIELD STATE-QUALIFYING MEETS

Field events: 4 p.m.; running events: 4:30 p.m.

Class 4A

Top 2 in each event from each site automatically qualify, along with 12 next best efforts statewide

At Iowa City West — Burlington, Cedar Rapids Prairie, Dubuque Hempstead, Dubuque Senior, Iowa City High, Iowa City West, Linn-Mar, Western Dubuque.

At Marshalltown — Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Cedar Rapids Washington, Marshalltown, Mason City, Waterloo East, Waterloo West.

Class 3A

Top 2 in each event from each site automatically qualify, along with 8 next best efforts statewide

At Bondurant — Bondurant-Farrar, Grinnell, Knoxville, Newton, Oskaloosa, Pella, South Tama, Williamsburg.

At Charles City — Center Point-Urbana, Charles City, Crestwood, Decorah, Independence, Vinton-Shellsburg, Waverly-Shell Rock, West Delaware.

At Mount Pleasant — Centerville, Clear Creek Amana, Davenport Assumption, Fairfield, Fort Madison, Keokuk, Mount Pleasant, Washington (Iowa).

Class 2A

Top 2 in each event from each site automatically qualify, along with 8 next best efforts statewide

At Eddyville — Albia, Central Lee, Columbus Community, Davis County, Eddyville EBF, Iowa City Regina, Mediapolis, Mid-Prairie, Pekin, Van Buren/Harmony, Wapello, West Burlington-Notre Dame.

At Grundy Center — Aplington-Parkersburg, Denver, Dike-New Hartford, East Marshall, Grundy Center GCGR, Hampton-Dumont, Roland-Story, South Hamilton, South Hardin, Union, Waterloo Columbus, West Marshall.

At Tipton — Anamosa, Bellevue (girls only), Camanche, Durant, Louisa-Muscatine, Monticello, North Cedar, Northeast, Tipton, West Branch, West Liberty, Wilton.

At West Union — Cascade, Dyersville Beckman, Maquoketa Valley, MFL MarMac, New Hampton, North Fayette Valley, Oelwein, Osage, Saint Ansgar, South Winneshiek, Sumner-Fredericksburg, Waukon.

Class 1A

Champion in each event from each site automatically qualifies, along with 12 next best efforts statewide

At Belle Plaine — Belle Plaine, BGM, Colfax-Mingo, Colo-Nesco, Grand View Christian, HLV, Iowa Christian, Iowa Valley, Lynnville-Sully, Montezuma, North Mahaska.

At Central City — Alburnett, Bellevue (boys only), Bellevue Marquette (boys only), Calamus-Wheatland, Central City, Clinton Prince of Peace, East Buchanan, Easton Valley, Lisbon, Midland, North Linn, Scattergood Friends (girls only), Springville.

At Edgewood — Clayton Ridge, Dunkerton, Edgewood-Colesburg, Elkader Central, Lansing Kee, Postville, Starmont, Tripoli, Turkey Valley, Wapsie Valley, West Central.

At Hudson — Ackley AGWSR, Clarksville, Conrad BCLUW, Don Bosco, Garwin GMG, Hudson, Janesville, Jesup, Nashua-Plainfield, North Tama, Valley Lutheran.

At Wayland — Cardinal, Danville, English Valleys, Fairfield Maharishi (girls only), Highland, Iowa Mennonite, Keota, Lone Tree, New London, Sigourney, Tri-County, WACO, Winfield-Mount Union.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com