West hosted the annual Eastern Iowa Track and Field Festival on April 13, hosting 49 schools from around the state. Because the meet is not team-scored, it is a great opportunity for schools to run Drake Blue Oval Standards. The West High girls and boys’ track and field teams did just that, posting new standards and improving on ones they already had.
Boys
Although Drake doesn’t have a sprint medley for the boys, they started the meet strong with a second-place finish. The 4×800 relay team improved their season’s best time, running 10 seconds faster, securing a first-place medal and earning a Blue Oval Standard with a time of 7:57.73. The team of juniors Sam Showers, Brice Wahe, Maxwell Bruss and Moustafa Tiea, is third in the state in that event.
Tied for third in the state, Izaiah Loveless ’24 took home the gold in the 100-meter dash. Loveless was also part of the 4×200 relay that edged out City for the first-place title. The team of Todd Rent ’24, Mason Woods ’25, Juju Manson ’26 and Loveless ran 1:28.10, improving their Blue Oval Standard and putting them second in the state.
Sophomore Waleed Ibrahim came in second in the 110 hurdles, posting a time of 15.51. Drake doesn’t have the 200-meter dash, but Harel Gameti ’25 placed second with 23.08.
Aidan Jacobsen ’24 improved on his Blue Oval Standard in the 400 hurdles with a time of 52.52. The raced put him first in the state.
Already having a Blue Oval Standard, the 4×100 team of Rent, Woods, Manson and Loveless took second place in a stacked field. The 4×400 relay finished the night strong, earning third place.
In the field events, Daniel Robinson ’24 jumped 6 feet while Colin Whitters ’26 threw 149-10.5 in the high jump and discus, respectively, earning third-place finishes.
The boys will be back in action at 4:30 p.m. on April 18 at the Forewald Relays at City High.
Girls
The girls hit the ground running in a stacked 4×800 field. They placed fifth with a time of 10:31.40. Shortly after, the shuttle hurdle relay team of Erinn Varga ’24, Jaylin Herring ’26, Eriniah Carter ’24 and Sophia Olivo ’25 ran a 1:06.05, improving on their Blue Oval Standard, moving them up to fifth in the state.
The 100 hurdles were a good event for West as Olivo and Carter went two and four, respectively. In the 400 hurdles, Varga placed second with 1:07.87. Both Varga and Herring are in the top 15. The relay team of Natalie Steva ’25, Miracle Stewart ’25, Evelyn Cornish ’27 and Eriniah Carter ’24 placed third in the 4×100 with a season’s best of 51.39.
Sophia Austen ’27, Kate Van Waning ’26, Varga, and Herring’s 4×400 relay placed second with a time of 4:08.70. In the field events, Helen Penning ’24 placed fifth in the shotput with 36-09.75.
The girls will also be at the Forewald Relays on April 18 at 4:30 p.m.
