As he sped around the blue oval at Drake Stadium on Thursday, Ankeny senior Tyrese Miller knew that he was about to become a state champion for the first time.
Miller won the 400 in the boys’ Class 4A state track meet in a time of 48.71 seconds. He finished nearly a full second ahead of runner-up Luke Meyers of Iowa City Liberty.
“That’s definitely the race that I have the most confidence in,” said Miller, who is also hoping to win the 100 and 200 later this weekend. “Just because of the way I run the 400, nobody can beat me.”
Miller became Ankeny’s first state champion in the 400 in 20 years. Josh Leonard won the event in 2002 before taking his talents to Nebraska.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Miller, an Iowa recruit. “I’ve basically been working all year for this. I’m just happy to see the results.”
Miller also ran in preliminary heats of the 100 and 200 on Thursday. He easily won his heat in the 200 in 22.02, the third-fastest time overall, and later ran 10.85 for the fastest qualifying time in the 100.
“In the 200 I was trying to get a good lane for finals,” Miller said. “I did what I needed to do.”
The finals of the 100 and 200 will be held on Saturday afternoon. Miller is also expected to anchor the Hawks’ sprint medley relay on Saturday morning.
One of Miller’s top competitors in the 100, Titus Christiansen of Southeast Polk, did not advance to the final. Christiansen, who was running in the lane next to Miller, pulled up with an injury early in the race.
“That was too bad,” Miller said.
Ankeny is in fourth place with 14.5 points after the opening day of the meet. Iowa City High leads with 25.5 points, and Dowling Catholic is second with 19.
The Hawks also scored some points in the high jump, where Jamison Patton tied for fourth with a leap of 6 feet 6 inches.
“I didn’t really come out here expecting much,” said Patton. “This is my second meet, so I was just coming out here to have fun.”
Patton missed his first two attempts at 6-6 before he cleared the bar on his final try.
“I was talking to my coach, and he was talking about using my power,” Patton said. “And I got it, so that gave me the confidence to get over.”
Sam Skarich of North Scott and Jacob Kieler of Cedar Falls both cleared 6-8, but Skarich won the event based on fewer misses. Idris Thomas of Davenport West cleared 6-6 and took third.
Patton, a junior, has had a busy spring on the football recruiting trail after transferring to Ankeny from Des Moines Roosevelt. He currently holds 10 Division I offers.
Patton will also play baseball this summer and plans to high jump again in 2023.
“I’m definitely going to be back,” he said.
Patton’s teammate, Cash Schoolen, placed 17th in the high jump. He cleared 5-10.
Ankeny competed in two other events on Thursday. The Hawks placed 10th in the 4×800 relay with a time of 8:07.80.
That team consisted of Abel Squires, Truman Patterson, Levi Hill and Jake Bosch. Bosch ran the anchor leg in 1:58.36.
Sioux City North won the race in 7:44.64, the fourth-best high school time in the country. It was the first win by a Sioux City high school team in the 4×800 in 50 years.
The Hawks later qualified for Saturday’s final in the shuttle hurdle relay. The foursome of Carter Accola, Max Watson, Landon Pote and Gavin Wise posted the eighth-fastest qualifying time of 1:02.16.
Centennial finished 16th in that event. The team of Easton Miller, Malachi Curvey, Cael Woods and Tyler Bruns was clocked in 1:03.35.
The Jaguars competed in two other events. Josh Binstock took 23rd in the discus with a throw of 130 feet 2 inches, while Tyler Schermerhorn did not finish in the 3,200 due to a huge blister.
Walker Whalen of Indianola won the discus, setting a state record of 204-9 on his final attempt. Runner-up Corey Phillips of Ames also surpassed the previous state record.
Ford Washburn of Iowa City High captured the 3,200 in 9:05.35.
