Waukee Northwest girls track and field athlete Katie Willits and Norwalk boys track and field athlete Kaiden Kunze were voted the Des Moines Register’s female and male Athlete of the Week winners from the metro area for the week of May 17-23.
Willits won female Athlete of the Week with 61% of the vote.
Willits capped her phenomenal career by winning two individual events and helping Waukee Northwest set a new all-time best time in the shuttle hurdle relay during the 2026 Iowa high school girls and boys state track and field championships held from May 21-23 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
Willits won the 4A girls 100 in 11.66 and the 200 in 23.70. She also took second in the 100 hurdles with an excellent 13.70 showing.
Willits ran the opening leg on Northwest’s record-setting shuttle hurdle team that ran a 58.61. She played a big role in Northwest winning the 4A girls team title by a record margin.
Kunze was voted male Athlete of the Week with 51% of the vote.
Kunze won four events in 4A for the Norwalk boys track and field team at the 2026 Iowa high school girls and boys state track and field championships held May 21-23 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
Kunze won the 4A boys 100 dash in 10.63, the 200 in 10.46 and the open 400 in 47.80 to pull off a sweep in the open sprinting events. Kunze also placed first in the boys long jump with a distance of 23 feet, 8.25 inches.
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: Katie Willits, Kaiden Kunze are the Register’s Athletes of the Week
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Des Moines Register / Ames Tribune
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