Iowa high school state track and field 2025: Tracking the top boys’ individuals and teams

DES MOINES — The Iowa high school state track and field meet begins at 9 a.m. Thursday at Drake Stadium and runs through Saturday.

Here are the top individuals and teams in the boys’ field, along with The Gazette’s championship picks:

Class 4A

Top individuals: Ankeny’s Logan Fairchild is back to defend his 100-meter crown, and is the top seed in the 200. He and Tyler Sickerson highlight the Hawks’ sprint relays, and teammate Ethan Zuber is a top-five seed in three distance events. Owen Wolfe and Jacob Fiori of West Des Moines Dowling are seeded 1-2 in the 1,600. Colin Whitters, a junior at Iowa City West, is favored to sweep the throwing events. Two Cedar Rapids Prairie individuals are reigning state champions: Quinton Alexander in the 110 hurdles, T.Y. Pour in the long jump. Ryan Bartels of Cedar Rapids Kennedy is the top seed in the highs.

Scouting the team race: Ankeny probably won’t approach the 112 points it racked up last year, and is unlikely to storm to a 26-point margin of victory. But the Hawks certainly are in the mix to repeat, which would make them the first back-to-back 4A champions since West Des Moines Valley won three in a row from 2015 through 2017. Waukee Northwest is a surprising leader in projected points, with 71. The Wolves should do much of their damage prior to Saturday. With Whitters and shot put pal James Barnett (a freshman) leading the way, Iowa City West is seeded to score 33 field-event points, and that could trigger the Trojans to a trophy.

Projected points leaders: Waukee Northwest 71, Ankeny 68, West Des Moines Dowling 56, Iowa City West 54, Cedar Falls 49.

Our trophy picks: 1. Ankeny, 2. Waukee Northwest, 3. Iowa City West.

Class 3A

Top individuals: If these are, in fact, the salad days of boys’ distance running in Iowa, a trio of 3A juniors are highly responsible. Western Dubuque’s Quentin Nauman won four events at state last year. At the Drake Relays, he became the first high school guy to sweep the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. He’ll be pushed, hard, in all three of those by guys like Canaan Dunham of Pella and Caleb Ten Pas of Des Moines Christian. Clear Creek Amana possesses a pair of aces in thrower Landon Prince and sprinter/hurdler Tay Seals. Center Point-Urbana’s Nathan Miller is a threat in the 400 and the 400 hurdles, and Benton Community’s Eli Patterson is the top seed in the high jump.

Scouting the team race: Western Dubuque edged Pella, 72-71, for the championship last year. It’s iffy that either will get to the 70s this year, but it’s certainly possible that those two teams will be razor-close again. Nauman figures to score big again in four events (he is scheduled to anchor the Bobcats’ distance medley). Pella is projected to score in 11 events and is seeded No. 1 in the 4x400, and Dunham is certain to outperform his districts-based seeds. Prince and Seals will carry the weekend for CCA, which also is seeded No. 1 in the 4x100 and No. 2 in the shuttle hurdle relay. Gilbert, Adel ADM and Newton could rise up and challenge.

Projected points leaders: Clear Creek Amana 52, Western Dubuque 50, Pella 47, Gilbert 45, Adel ADM 42.

Our trophy picks: 1. Pella, 2. Western Dubuque, 3. Clear Creek Amana.

Class 2A

Top individuals: Tyson Seeser of Camanche has topped 7 feet in the high jump on multiple instances this season, and also is a contender in the long jump. Treynor’s Brady Wallace is one of the best hurdlers in the state, in any class, and teammate Cauy Konz is a threat to claim the 100 and 200. The distance events appear to be up for grabs; Emerson Vokes of Grundy Center, Alex Torres of Vinton-Shellsburg and Conall Sauser of Oelwein are three of the best.

Scouting the team race: How about a 4x400, between conference rivals, for a state championship? If you believe the district results, that’s what we might be in for, between North Iowa Cedar League combatants Grundy Center and Denver, both of whom are seeded to score in the mid- to upper-50s. Grundy is seeded No. 1 in four events, including three relays (one of which is that 4x400). Denver, meanwhile, is projected to tally 32 relay points. The schedule sets up for a big Saturday push from Spirit Lake and Treynor, and those two teams — along with the aforementioned NICL duo — comprise the final lead pack of four.

Projected points leaders: Grundy Center 59, Denver 55, Treynor 49, Spirit Lake 47, Crestwood 39.

Our trophy picks: 1. Spirit Lake, 2. Treynor, 3. Grundy Center.

Class 1A

Top individuals: Lisbon is stacked in the sprints, and senior Tiernan Boots is the speediest of the Lions. Last year’s 1A runner-up in the 100, Boots enters as the top seed in that event, and will play a prominent role in the Lions’ sprint relays. Lenox senior Gabe Funk is the favorite in the 400 hurdles, and is a top-five seed in the 400 and the 110 highs. The South Iowa Cedar League is home to several top contestants, including sprinter Caleb Haack of Iowa Valley, distance man Gage Heyne of English Valleys and the Belle Plaine hurdling duo of Lane Vokoun and Sam DeMuelenaere. Henry Peterson of Dunkerton is the top seed in the 800 and 1,600.

Scouting the team race: Lisbon won three straight 1A titles from 2015 through 2017, and the Lions are poised to repeat that three-peat feat. The champion in 2023 and 2024, Lisbon separated itself from the pack with a brilliant district meet. The Lions hold No. 1 seeds in four events — Boots in the 100, plus the 4x100, 4x200 and sprint medley relays — and Gage Holub is seeded second in the 110 hurdles. Assuming the Lions don’t drift back to the pack, the race for second could be a cluster of as many as 10 teams. From an area standpoint, that includes Iowa Valley, English Valleys and Belle Plaine.

Projected points leaders: Lisbon 69, Oakland Riverside 35, Columbus Community 32, Belle Plaine 31, Lenox 30.

Our trophy picks: 1. Lisbon, 2. South Hamilton, 3. Oakland Riverside.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com