It has not taken long for Tanner Twedt to make his presence known at Gilbert.
Twedt transferred to Gilbert from South Hamilton just four months ago. But he is already making a name for himself on the Tiger track and field team after placing seventh in the boys 100-meter dash at the Drake Relays on April 24.
Twedt qualified for the finals after running a PR time of 10.70 seconds during the prelims on April 24.
“To be honest, it kind of surprised me too,” Twedt said. “I kind of got out there and ran that 10.7. I was like ‘Wow, I didn’t think I could do that.’”
Later in the afternoon, he clocked in at 10.81 during the finals to finish seventh.
Twedt said he was thankful for everything he learned while at South Hamilton.
As a sophomore, he watched Ty Koehnk win the Class 2A boys 400 and the Hawks take first in the 4×200 and 4×400 relays at the 2024 state meet. Last year, he watched Kolby Hodnefield win the 200 and 400, and he helped South Hamilton take second in the sprint medley.
Now he has moved up a class and will attempt to help Gilbert continue to build on its tradition of sprinters. Earlier on April 24, he helped the Tigers place seventh in the sprint medley, and he is part of a 4×100 team going for a white champion’s flag after entering the meet with the fourth-fastest time in the state among.
He has been fully embraced by the Gilbert track and field program. He got the blessing from an all-time great alumnus who was part of the Tigers’ 2025 4×100 state champion relay team and is a current member of the Nebraska football program.
“Everyone’s been so welcoming to me,” Twedt said. “Even Will Hawthorne supported me, though I just broke his records.”
Twedt is impressing his opposition as well.
“I knew he was a dawg, but ever since he transferred to Gilbert, he’s improved a lot,” said defending 3A 100-meter champion Connor Kunze of Nevada. “I’m really proud of him.”
Twedt is ready to make some more noise at Drake and carry that over to the state meet in a few weeks.
“This year I knew we had a talented team, and I knew we had a lot on our plate, so I figured I might as well step up,” Twedt said. “Might as well show everyone what I can do, too.”
Connor Kunze places eighth in 100 meters
Kunze, an Iowa State men’s track and field commit, entered Drake determined to win the 100.
He placed third at the Relays last year before winning the state title in the event. This year, he entered Drake with the fastest time in 3A at 10.48.
But Kunze has been battling a nagging hamstring injury in his left leg since last season. It kept him from trying for a state title in the 200 in 2025, and he strained it again three weeks ago.
Kunze recuperated well enough to run on April 24.
He took third during the 100 prelims with a time of 10.70 to qualify for the finals. But his hamstring started to act up again.
Kunze was able to compete in the finals, but he could not give his best effort. He crossed the finish line in 10.89 to place eighth.
“Just try my hardest to recover by districts and try to qualify for the state meet again,” Kunze said. “If not, I’ve got four years at Iowa State. I’m just going to work toward recovery.”
Though he fell short of his goals at Drake, Kunze said he was happy to get another shot to run against the best in the state.
“I love competing at the Drake Relays,” Kunze said. “It’s an honor to be here and run against the fastest people in Iowa. Today was just an unfortunate circumstance.”
Ames’ Ayak Akol, Gilbert boys distance medley team place
Ames girls high jumper Ayak Akol finished fourth and the Gilbert boys distance medley team finished seventh at Drake on April 24.
Akol jumped a career-best five feet, five inches. She cleared the bar on her first attempt at 5-5.
She only trailed Clinton’s Elle Lonergran, Mount Ayr’s Aubree Shields and North Polk’s Reese Wagner. Lonergran won with a jump of 5-8 and Shields and Wagner both jumped 5-7.
The Gilbert boys distance medley team placed seventh. The Tiger team of Ean Eldred, Paul Marpe, Twedt and Carson Squiers won the opening heat with a time of 3:29.87.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Tanner Twedt at home with Gilbert after 7th-place at Drake Relays
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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