Cedar Rapids Kennedy Cougars vault to the top of the Iowa track charts

CEDAR RAPIDS - You knew Drew Bartels was a fast kid.

Here's what you didn't know: Kingston Stadium now has a fast track.

'Oh, it's fast,” said Bartels, a senior at Cedar Rapids Kennedy. 'Oh my God, yes, it's fast. Once it gets warm, you're really going to see some fast times here.”

Bartels won three events - the long jump and 110-meter hurdles, plus the shuttle hurdle relay - at the Washington Invitational boys' track and field meet Thursday night at Kingston Stadium.

His effort in the 110 highs (14.35 seconds) vaulted him to No. 1 in the state, in all classes. Kennedy's all-senior shuttle, which consisted of Reid Pakkebier, Bartels, Max White and Brody Lovell, that's No. 1 now, too, after a 58.99-second effort.

'I love those guys. I grew up with them,” Bartels saied. 'We always said, ‘When we're seniors, it's going to be our shuttle.'”

Cedar Rapids Prairie had the deepest squad in the 11-team field, edging Cedar Falls, 144-141, for the team title. Kennedy was third with 104 points.

Of course, there was no high school track and field season in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There was, however, an all-comers meet in July at BGM High School, sponsored by Drake Relays public-address announcer Mike Jay. And Bartels was one of the stars there, winning the long jump and the 400 hurdles.

'I wanted this first meet to be one to remember. I didn't want to be close to anybody else,” said Bartels, who will continue his career next year at the University of Northern Iowa.

Bartels soared 22-2 in the long jump, 4 inches less than his season-best, which ranks second statewide.

The Kingston track was resurfaced and expanded to eight lanes in the summer of 2019, then sat vacant last spring. Times were surprisingly fast on the oval Thursday.

'I like the surface a lot,” said Iowa City Liberty's Jack Kinzer, the 800-meter champion. 'It feels pretty springy, It's a lot better than two years ago.”

Kinzer ran on Liberty's 3,200-meter relay, which finished second to Cedar Falls. Both teams sizzled for early April; the Tigers finished in 7:55.04, the Lightning in 7:58.19.

'I'm ecstatic,” Kinzer said. 'I knew Cedar Falls was really good. We stayed as close as we could.

'Our goal was to go for the (Drake Relays) Blue Standard (of 8:05), and we killed it.”

Prairie claimed the team title despite winning just two events, compared to seven for Cedar Falls. Ceondae Adams struck gold in the 100 (11.54) and the sprint medley relay won in 1:38.13.

BOYS' TRACK & FIELD: WASHINGTON INVITATIONAL

At Kingston Stadium

Teams - 1. C.R. Prairie 144, 2. Cedar Falls 141, 3. C.R. Kennedy 104, 4. Iowa City Liberty 64, 5. Linn-Mar 41, 6. Monticello 38, 7. Waterloo West 20, 8. C.R. Washington 15, 9. C.R. Jefferson 13, 10. Davenport Central 7, 11. Davenport North 2.

Shot put - 1. Brayden Cleeton (Monti), 48-1 3/4; 2. Nate Jones (CRP), 47-7; 3. Capri Wilson (CF), 45-6 1/2; Discus - 1. McKade Jelinek (LM), 166-8; 2. Adam Teare (WW), 136-4; 3. Sam Braksiek (CRP), 135-11; High jump - 1. Caden Ungs (Monti), 6-2; 2. Brendan Linde (CRK), 6-2; 3. T.J. Jackson (LM), 6-2; Long jump - 1. Drew Bartels (CRK), 22-2; 2. Makelle Taylor (CRP), 21-6 1/2; 3. Trey Campbell (CF), 21-6.

Sprint medley relay - 1. C.R. Prairie (Moeller, Lewis, Keiper, Guckerberger), 1:38.13; 2. Monticello, 1:41.09; 3. C.R. Kennedy, 1:41.48; 3,200 - 1. Michael Goodenbour (CF), 9:42.01; 2. Brayden Burnett (CF), 9:42.18; 3. Hayden Kuhn (LM), 9:59.18; 3,200 relay - 1. Cedar Falls (Eastman, Mujica, Jorgensen, Tomlyanovich), 7:55.04; 2. Iowa City Liberty, 7:58.19; 3. C.R. Prairie, 8:21.58; Shuttle hurdle relay - 1. C.R. Kennedy (Pakkebier, Bartels, White, Lovell), 58.99; 2. C.R. Prairie, 1:01.45; 3. Cedar Falls, 1:03.64; 100 - 1. Ceondae Adams (CRP), 11.54; 2. Luke Meyers (ICL), 11.54; 3. Miles Thompson (CRW), 11.57; Distance medley relay - 1. Cedar Falls (Tressler, Knox, Jorgensen, Jacobson), 3:42.03; 2. C.R. Prairie, 3:50.03; 3. Monticello, 3:53.75; 400 - 1. Alex Mujica (CF), 51.58; 2. Kenzie Reed (CRK), 52.31; 3. Luke Meyers (ICL), 52.68; 800 relay - 1. Cedar Falls (Gee, Tomlyanovich, Eastman, Campbell), 1:29.45; 2. C.R. Prairie, 1:33.07; 3. Waterloo West, 1:33.75; 110 hurdles - 1. Drew Bartels (CRK), 14.35; 2. Reid Pakkebier (CRK), 15.51; 3. Geramie Hardaway (CRP), 15.59; 800 - 1. Jack Kinzer (ICL), 2:02.44; 2. Bryson Canton (CRP), 2:03.46; 3. Michael Goodenbour (CF), 2:03.96; 200 - 1. Brody Lovell (CRK), 23.31; 2. Zander White (CF), 24.04; 3. Collin Rickertsen (CRP), 24.08; 400 hurdles - 1. Joel Burris (CF), 56.50; 2. Drew Bartels (CRK), 58.47; 3. Abass Kemokai (LM), 59.09; 1,600 - 1. Bowen Gryp (ICL), 4:31.82; 2. Andrew Bickford (CRP), 4:32.65; 3. Cooper Olsen (CF), 4:32.86; 400 relay - 1. Cedar Falls (Gee, White, Ratleff, Campbell), 44.15; 2. C.R. Prairie, 44.57; 3. C.R. Kennedy, 45.72; 1,600 relay - 1. Cedar Falls (Eastman, Mujica, Jacobson, Tomlyanovich), 3:22.04; 2. C.R. Prairie, 3:32.63; 3. Iowa City Liberty, 3:35.31.

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