Warriors strike gold in 4A boys' 4x800

DES MOINES -- Andrew Marshall didn't get a direct rematch with Brennan Davey.

And he didn't mind a bit.

Marshall anchored Cedar Rapids Washington to the Class 4A 3,200-meter relay title Thursday at Drake Stadium. Robert Hogg, Kyle Rouse, Tyler Eckhardt and Marshall were clocked in 7 minutes, 48.70 seconds.

"Those guys set it up for me," Marshall said. "They pushed the whole way."

It was a degree of redemption for Marshall, who was passed by Davey and Indianola at the Drake Relays. Indianola finished in 7:51.76 in the second heat Thursday, then the Warriors surpassed that effort.

"Do I wish Davey was on my shoulder again?" Marshall said. "No, to be honest, I don't."

Hogg's leadoff leg put the Warriors in third place, then Rouse moved them to second behind Marshalltown.

A surge by Eckhardt with 200 meters left in the third leg put Washington in front, then Marshall maintained the advantage.

"I knew Marshalltown had good runners, so I was going to go hard and push it before the stretch," Eckhardt said.

Indianola is the team leader through five events; the Indians have tallied 26 points. Pleasant Valley is second with 19, followed by Linn-Mar (17). Defending-champion Washington has 10 points.

Linn-Mar's Kyle Dunn opened a potentially big weekend by winning the 400-meter dash, and he did it in Lane 8 of Heat 2, circling the track in 48.33 seconds.

Davey, running in the fast heat, was clocked in 48.50.

"I like to be able to run my own race. And in Lane 8, you can do that," Dunn said. "This was one race against Indianola. This was a chance for us to get one up on them."

Dunn figures to contend in both individual hurdles races later this weekend. The Lions did not advance in the shuttle hurdle relay.

Scott Mittman of Iowa City High ran second to Andrew Swanson of Pleasant Valley in the 3,000-meter run. He was timed in 9:21.14.

Jacob Gannon of Iowa City West was third, Linn-Mar's Ryan Piche was fourth in the discus.