Iowa boys' track and field 2021: Gazette area individuals and teams to watch

Gazette area individuals and teams to watch for the 2021 Iowa high school boys' track and field season.

Individuals to watch

Drew Bartels, sr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy — A member of the Cougars' 4A fourth-place shuttle hurdle relay team in 2019.

Andrew Bickford, sr., Cedar Rapids Prairie — Placed fifth in Class 4A at state cross country last fall.

Brady Hogan, sr., Decorah — Placed fifth in Class 3A at state cross country last fall.

Abass Kemokai, sr., Linn-Mar — A member of the Lions' 4A third-place shuttle hurdle relay team in 2019.

Trent Koelker, sr., Dyersville Beckman — Ran on a pair of 2A seventh-place relays (sprint medley and 4x100) in 2019.

Gabe Kopriva, jr., North Tama — A member of the Redhawks' 1A third-place shuttle hurdle relay in 2019.

Eli Larson, jr., Center Point-Urbana — Placed fourth in Class 3A at state cross country last fall.

Brody Lovell, sr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy — A member of the Cougars' 4A fourth-place shuttle hurdle relay team in 2019.

C.J. Rickels, sr., Vinton-Shellsburg — Placed sixth in the 3A high jump in 2019.

Caleb Shumaker, sr., Tipton — The Class 2A state cross country champion last fall.

Teams to watch

Cedar Rapids Kennedy — The Cougars, as always, will be slick in the hurdles and the sprints. Seniors Drew Bartels and Brody Lovell are the anchors.

Cedar Rapids Prairie — As was the case in cross country, the boys' and girls' programs are now under one umbrella. Numbers will be solid, and Andrew Bickford is a distance standout.

Iowa City West — The Trojans were 14th in the 4A state meet in 2019. Senior Tyuss Bell was on a placewinning sprint medley relay.

Linn-Mar — The Lions have finished in the top six in the shuttle hurdle relay four of the last five years, and senior Abass Kemokai hopes to keep that tradition rolling.

Western Dubuque — The Bobcats were Class 4A fifth-place finishers in 2019 and return Logan Brosius, a member of their placewinning shuttle hurdle relay.

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