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Boys 5th against pool with bigger schools
by Matthew Dickinson, sports editor · Sports · May 07, 2025
The West Branch boys’ track team did some lineup experimenting and had some strong results against tough competition amid a fifth-place finish with 48 points April 29 at Cedar Rapids Xavier.
Cedar Rapids Prairie won a tight team race with 165 points while Cedar Rapids Kennedy took second with 159.
Iowa City High finished third with 97 while Center Point-Urbana finished ahead of West Branch with 72.
Brandon Pedersen swept the individual sprint events, claiming the 100 meter dash in 11.15 and the 200 in 22.19. Pedersen also anchored the 4x200 meter relay alongside Cooper Gates, Keaton Gates, and Jayden Harris, which placed fourth in 1:33.48. He also ran the second leg of the fourth-place 4x100, which included Cooper Gates, Keaton Gates, and Connor Rios and had a time of 44.22.
“Brandon’s Brandon,” Bears Head Coach said of Pedersen. “He won an open one and open two in a [Class] 4A meet and did it pretty convincingly.”
The 4x400 relay of Reid Hansen, Lincoln Naber, Logan Christoffel, and Nolan Staker had a high placing by taking third in 3:34.00. Naber added a fourth-place 400 in 52.99 while Staker claimed fourth in the 110 meter hurdles in 16.07 and fifth in the 400 hurdles in 59.61.
The 4x4, that group of kids had a good time,” Larson said. “We dropped our PR again, that was good.” The coach added that Naber “had a hell of a track meet,” noting that he had good results in his 400 races along with a key role in the placing shuttle hurdle teams, and that Staker “was a warrior” for his ability to compete well with quick turnarounds between races.
Along with the 4x200 and 4x100, the Bears did some experimenting with relay lineups. The sprint medley team of Conner Capper, Rios, Hansen, and Naber took fifth in 1:38.20 while the shuttle hurdle team of Hansen, Naber, Ty Stout, and Staker took fifth in 1:08.65.
Larson said that he was mulling a final decision on the 4x200, adding that the team would benefit if the Bears can advance to state in the event without deploying Pedersen. He added that the possible move in turn would open up Pedersen to give West Branch a lift in the 4x400.
Larson also noted that the 4x100 shuffled the lineup, which “didn’t quite work” but “was still really fast.” The coach also said that the Bears had a clunky handoff on the 4x200 and that the relay would aim to “clean some of that stuff up.”
The elite competition among mostly larger schools meant that placing became more difficult. Larson said that the meet was proof “that we can compete with the best.”
The coach added that he was pleased with non-placing results from Xavyer Boone in the 400, who broke into the 54-second range, and Preston Mayhew in the 1600, who hit a PR by about 10 seconds.
Following a May 2 meet at Union, the Bears’ next race was the highly competitive River Valley Conference meet set for Thursday night at Tipton, which features several 2A entries that rank highly in the state. Larson said that the team “unfortunately” had some lineup holes that would prevent them from being competitive at the top of the conference, but said that he was “excited to see” what the team would do against the elite competition.
Team scores: 1. Cedar Rapids Prairie 165 2. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 159 3. Iowa City High 97 4. Center Point-Urbana 72 5. West Branch 48 6. Cedar Rapids Xavier 31 7. Ottumwa 12 8. Regina 5.
100 meter dash: 1. Brandon Pedersen 11.15; 19. Jayden Harris 12.15; 23. Maddux Rushton 12.56
110 meter hurdles: 4. Nolan Staker 16.07
200 meter dash: 1. Brandon Pedersen 22.19; 19. Arik Marsh 25.15; 21. Wesley Strong 25.40
400 meter dash: 4. Lincoln Naber 52.99; 10. Xavyer Boone 54.84; 17. Wesley Strong 58.41
400 meter hurdles: 5. Nolan Staker 59.61; 13. Ty Stout 1:03.12; Oliver Trepanier DNS
800 meter run: 17. Masyn Nicholson 2:37.71; Garrison Culver DNS
1600 meter run: 13. Preston Mayhew 5:20.52; 17. Joseph Schlitz 6:13.59; 18. Josh Zoulek 6:22.85
Discus: 14. Michael Montgomery 117-4; 21. Garrett Tisinger 74-1; Finn McCullough DNS
Long jump: 10. Arik Marsh 19-3; 13. Benjamin Ziehr 18-2.50; 14. Jayden Harris 17-7
Shot put: 14. Finn McCullough 37-0; 19. Garrett Tisinger 29-0; Michael Montgomery DNS
Shuttle hurdle relay: 5. (Reid Hansen, Lincoln Naber, Ty Stout, Nolan Staker) 1:08.65
Sprint medley relay: 5. (Conner Capper, Connor Rios, Reid Hansen, Lincoln Naber) 1:38.20
Distance medley relay: (Conner Capper, Connor Rios, Logan Christoffel, Preston Mayhew) DNF
4x200 relay: 4. (Cooper Gates, Keaton Gates, Jayden Harris, Brandon Pedersen) 1:33.48
4x400 relay: 3. (Reid Hansen, Lincoln Naber, Logan Christoffel, Nolan Staker) 3:34.00
4x100 relay: 4. (Cooper Gates, Brandon Pedersen, Keaton Gates, Connor Rios) 44.22
Bears fifth at Union meet
The boys ran over to Union High School for a meet on May 1 and returned with a fifth-place team finish.
Team scores: 1. Union 97 2. Benton 94 3. Independence 77 4. Janesville 54 5. West Branch 53.5 6. Columbus Catholic 41 7. East Buchanan 11 8. Vinton-Shellsburg 8.
100 meter dash: 5. Benjamin Ziehr 12.38
200 meter dash: 7. Maddux Rushton 25,40; 13. Connor Rios DNS
400 meter dash: 7. Arik Marsh 57.00; 9. Joseph Schlitz 1:05.79
800 meter run: 6. Lynden MacGillivray 2:20.75; 11. Josh Zoulek 2:48.16
1600 meter run: 5. Masyn Nicholson 5:34.89; 9. Joseph Schlitz 6:11.67
400 meter hurdles: 6. Ty Stout 1:02.64
3200 meter run: 1. Lynden MacGillivray 11:07.56; 3. Preston Mayhew 11:31.60
Long jump: 3. Arik Marsh 17-11.50; 5. Benjamin Ziehr 17-03.00
Shot put: 4. Michael Montgomery 43-01.00; 15. Finn McCullough 34-00.25; 21. Garrett Tisinger 28-06.25
Discus: 4. Michael Montgomery 133-0.500; 16. Finn McCullough 88-09.00; 22. Garrett Tisinger 49-11.00
4x100 relay: 7. 47.40; 9. 49.49; NT
4x200 relay: 1. 1:33.71
4x400 relay: 2. 3:33.95
Sprint medley relay: 4. 1:43.72; 10. 1:51.44
Distance medley relay: 4. 4:18.53
Shuttle hurdle relay: 4. 1:07.56
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