Mount Vernon’s Wirfs captures discus state title

DES MOINES - Tristan Wirfs didn't feel very good about where he stood in his discus throws after the district meet. The week leading up to state was even worse.

'Practice this week wasn't near as good as what happened today,” the Mount Vernon sophomore said. 'I felt better today than I pretty much did all week.”

All of the uncertain vibes dissipated when Wirfs notched a runner-up finish in the shot put, but that was just the beginning. The doubt was shattered when he won the Class 2A discus with a throw of 167 feet, 3 inches, which was nearly 30 feet better than his qualifying distance.

Clayton Ridge's Ryan Moser, who won the shot put, led the group with his first throw but finished second after throwing 164 feet, 9 inches.

'It was just a lot of excitement,” Wirfs said. 'I saw the sign go to 167 (feet) and it was just a great feeling. I was in first (after the preliminaries) and I was just waiting for somebody else to pass that. I knew I just had to keep rolling.”

Mount Vernon was third in the distance medley, running 3:32.42 in the first of three heats. Tipton was fourth in 3:34.00.

Will Teubel anchored the Mustangs in 1:53.9 and said he and his teammates spent the next two heats eyeing the clock to see where they would stack. He even joked they were yelling at the other teams to slow down.

'I wish there would have been someone just because you always run a little faster with someone,” Teubel said. 'But all my teammates ran very well and we all (set personal bests) as a team by four seconds and broke the school record.”

After dropping the baton and effectively losing a state title and meet record in the 3,200-meter relay, Kingsley-Pierson/Woodbury Central won the distance medley in 3:30.04 with senior Nic Scheelhaase running as the anchor.

Iowa City Regina was third in the 800-meter relay in 1:29.26 while Dyersville Beckman and Cascade ran sixth and seventh, respectively. Monticello junior Garrett Rieniets was fifth in the high jump at 6 feet, 5 inches.