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Boys finish 2nd at Chad Gates Invitational
by Matthew Dickinson, sports editor · Sports · April 16, 2025
The West Branch boys’ track team represented its home track well April 10, taking second place with 122 points in the Chad Gates Invitational.
Durant took the team race with 147 points, while Wilton finished behind the Bears with 110 for third. Calamus-Wheatland claimed fourth with 95 while Maquoketa rounded out the top five with 50.
The Bears took the opportunity to honor Chad Gates, a West Branch athletic standout who tragically died in 1994, his sophomore year, as well as former hurdles coach Brad Wargo, who died unexpectedly in 2021. In a special mid-meet ceremony, members of Gates’s family awarded a special plaque to boys’ long jump winner Noah Gray of Wilton in honor of the late Bear’s favorite track event.
Before official events began, the Bears also held a special co-ed shuttle hurdle relay in honor of Wargo, which is a tradition West Branch has kept up since his passing.
“We want to pay tribute to Wargo and Chad Gates,” Bears Head Coach Taylor Larson said. “It’s always an honor to remember those guys. I didn’t know Chad, but I got to know Brad really for a lot of years. So it’s nice to see those families and say hi and check in to see how they’re doing and remember them.”
Junior Brandon Pedersen continued an excellent season with a victory and top-three finishes in all three of his events. Pedersen ran a sizzling 11.04 in the 100 meter dash to win the event and finish .01 off his season best of 11.03, just a fraction of a second off the school record of 10.99. He also anchored the 4x100 alongside Cooper Gates, Nolan Staker, and Connor Rios, which finished second in 44.72.
Larson said that the 4x100 “ran fine” in its first race as a fully-loaded unit, adding that the group’s time was good enough to be just outside “the bubble” to qualify for the Drake Relays next week and had the best time at this point in the season of any group he’s had, including the school record-breaking quartet from 2023.
Pedersen also had an impressive 400 anchor leg of the sprint medley relay following Maddux Rushton, Cooper Gates, and Keaton Gates, which finished third in 1:39.74.
“Brandon ran really well,” Larson said of Pedersen. “You split a 51 in the sprint med, which was super impressive. When we put him back into it, in the 100, he went 11.04. So far he’s ran the 100 three times and all three times he’s under 11.2.”
The coach added that he believed the entire sprint medley team were relatives of Chad Gates, and that some family members of the quartet had requested that Rushton, both of the Gates brothers, and Pedersen run together if possible. Larson added that he was glad to have the Gates brothers out as mid-season additions to the team, adding that the duo “hadn’t taken a blind handoff besides in practice” and had to adjust to the relays at full speed during the meet.
West Branch had three other winning entries. Ty Stout claimed the 400 meter hurdles in 1:05.01 while Lincoln Naber took the 800 meter run in 2:08.88. The 4x400 of Logan Christoffel, Xavyer Boone, Reid Hansen, and Naber had a time of 3:43.05.
Larson said that Naber “ran a really good 800 overall,” noting that the junior did not have any competition near him in order to push him to a faster time. The coach also said that Hansen made some good strides in the 4x400 and that the relay had potential this season. Larson also said that Stout had an even better performance in the 400 hurdles at Saturday’s Eastern Iowa Track and Field Festival hosted by Iowa City West and that the freshman “is going to be a battler, he’s going to be a grinder and he’s going to do some really good things for us.”
Lynden MacGillivray had a second-place 1600 of 5:03.57, while two other relays took second. The shuttle hurdle team of Stout, Hansen, Nolan Staker, and Naber finished in 1:08.94 while the 4x200 of Rios, Hansen, Christoffel, and Keaton Gates finished in 1:37.21. Larson credited Rios for stepping into the leadoff spot of the relay due to an injury to Conner Capper, saying that the senior showed maturity and leadership while taking on a difficult part of a sprint relay.
In throwing events, Michael Montgomery placed second in the discus with a 130 feet, 9 inch best and third in the shot put with a 41-07.50. Elsewhere in field events, Arik Marsh took fourth in the long jump with an 18-03.00 while Jayden Harris took fifth in the event with a 17-08.00. Benjamin Ziehr added a non-placing 17-00.00.
“Michael Montgomery PR’d I think, in the shot and then he was within two feet of the discus,” Larson said. “Arik got fourth. He didn’t jump 19 feet like he had the week before, but he’s a freshman, so he’s going to have his ups and downs. He wasn’t by any means discouraged.”
The coach added that Durant pulled away from the Bears with strong efforts in field events.
The distance medley quartet of Cooper Gates, Rios, Marsh, and MacGillivray finished third with 4:03.38 while the 4x800 of Oliver Trepanier, Masyn Nicholson, Josh Zoulek, and Eli Farmer finished fourth. The Bears had two non-scoring relays place, as the sprint medley group of Griffin Seydel, Wesley Strong, Boone, and Christoffel finished fifth in 1:45.71 and the 4x100 of Marsh, Naber, Keaton Gates, and Strong had a fifth-place 46.68.
Individually, Keaton Gates took fourth in the 100 in 11.65 while Joseph Schlitz claimed fourth in the 3200 in 13:19.45. Three Bears placed in the 400, with Boone taking fourth in 55.52, Stout taking sixth in 59.54, and Nicholson adding a non-scoring eighth-place 1:02.42.
The Bears had another light schedule with an April 15 meet at Lisbon. Larson said that there would be a tricky balance between trying to get events such as the 4x100 into the Drake Relays as well as Pedersen, who sat in the last qualifying spot as of Monday morning, in the final week that high school athletes could book a spot in the prestigious event held next week in Des Moines.
The coach added that he has held Pedersen to three events a meet in order to keep him fresh and healthy for the stretch run, and that following this week the team “will probably have to do some different things and look at some different events” to figure out the best combinations for the conference and district meets.
Team scores: 1. Durant 147 2. West Branch 122 3. Wilton 110 4. Calamus-Wheatland 95 5. Maquoketa 50 6. Lone Tree 27.
100 meter dash: 1. Brandon Pedersen 11.04; 4. Keaton Gates 11.65
200 meter dash: 13. Benjamin Ziehr 26.13; 16. Eli Farmer 29.36; 17. Garrett Tisinger 29.41
400 meter dash: 4. Xavyer Boone 55.52; 6. Ty Stout 59.54; 8. Masyn Nicholson 1:02.42
400 meter hurdles: 1. Ty Stout 1:05.01
800 meter run: 1. Lincoln Naber 2:08.88; 11. Josh Zoulek 2:39.77
1600 meter run: 2. Lynden MacGillivray 5:03.57
3200 meter run: 4. Joseph Schlitz 13:19.45
Discus: 2. Michael Montgomery 130-09; 12. Finn McCullough 93-07; 14. Bodee Morehead 85-09; 17. Garrett Tisinger 71-08
Long jump: 4. Arik Marsh 18-03.00; 5. Jayden Harris 17-08.00; 8. Benjamin Ziehr 17-00.00
Shot put: 3. Michael Montgomery 41-07.50; 9. Garrett Tisinger 37-00.00; 11. Finn McCullough 35-05.25; 16. Bodee Morehead 32-02.75
Sprint medley relay: 3. (Maddux Rushton, Cooper Gates, Keaton Gates, Brandon Pedersen) 1:39.74; 5. (Griffin Seydel, Wesley Strong, Xavyer Boone, Logan Christoffel) 1:45.71
4x100 relay: 2. (Cooper Gates, Nolan Staker, Connor Rios, Brandon Pedersen) 44.72; 5. (Arik Marsh, Lincoln Naber, Keaton Gates, Wesley Strong) 46.68
4x200 relay: 2. (Connor Rios, Reid Hansen, Logan Christoffel, Keaton Gates) 1:37.21; (Maddux Rushton, Wesley Strong, Benjamin Ziehr, Keaton Gates) DQ
Shuttle hurdle relay: 2. (Ty Stout, Reid Hansen, Nolan Staker, Lincoln Naber) 1:08.94
4x400 relay: 1. (Logan Christoffel, Xavyer Boone, Reid Hansen, Lincoln Naber) 3:43.05
4x800 relay: 4. (Oliver Trepanier, Masyn Nicholson, Josh Zoulek, Eli Farmer) 10:59.94
Distance medley relay: 3. (Cooper Gates, Connor Rios, Arik Marsh, Lynden MacGillivray) 4:03.38
Boys compete
at Field Festival
West Branch’s boys track team sent a crew April 12 to compete in the Eastern Iowa Track and Field Festival at Iowa City West High School.
Results:
110 meter hurdles: 13. Nolan Staker 17.26
400 meter dash: 11. Lincoln Naber 53.04; 17. Ty Stout 1:02.14
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