Ames-area high schools will be well-represented by male athletes at the Iowa high school state track and field meet, which takes place May 21-23 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
All seven schools from the area — Ames, Ballard, Collins-Maxwell, Colo-NESCO, Gilbert, Nevada and Roland-Story — will be represented in boys track and field competition.
Several area athletes and relay teams have a chance to earn a medal, and some could even end up at the top of the podium. One area program will also figure into a team championship race.
Here are five storylines featuring Ames-area male athletes and teams heading into the 2026 Iowa high school state track and field meet.
Can Gilbert win multiple gold medals?
The Gilbert boys track and field team has a chance to medal, and even win, in multiple running events.
The Tiger sprinters are outstanding.
Tanner Twedt qualified in the 100 and 200 and Paul Marpe in the 200. Both runners are part of a Tiger 4×100 team that, along with Aidan Rash and Gabe Fierce, ranks sixth among 3A qualifiers, but had the third-fastest time at the Drake Relays at 41.46, which ranks just ahead of the fastest qualifying time of 41.47 run by Clear Lake.
Twedt and Marpe also join Fierce and Reggie Chitenden on a 4×200 team that qualified second in 3A. The Tigers ran a 1:28.46 qualifying time, which only trails Clear Lake’s 1:28.09.
Rash also gives Gilbert a legit chance at a medal in the 110 high hurdles. He qualified third with a time of 14.60.
Gilbert features multiple runners from its three-time defending 3A state champion cross country teams, so the Tigers are naturally going to churn out some impressive performances in distance events.
While Western Dubuque sensation and future Oregon Duck Quentin Nauman will be the favorite in all three individual distance events — the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 — Gilbert’s Logan Bleich, Carson Squiers and Jacob Tallman are capable of at least placing in the top six of each race.
Bleich qualified in all three races. He ran the fastest qualifying time in the 1,600 at 4:20.34, the sixth-best in the 800 at 1:58.81 and the 12th-best in the 3,200 at 10:01.71.
Squiers is 15th in the 800 at 1:59.75 and 22nd in the 1,600 at 4:38.38, but he can run much faster. Squiers took fifth in last year’s 3A 800 and 1,600 with respective 1:54.75 and 4:18.86 performances.
Tallman will be running in his first state meet. He qualified right behind Bleich in the 3,200, coming in 13th at 10:02.99.
Do not be surprised to see some Tiger boys standing atop the podium next week.
How will Ames thrower Brandon Johnson’s switch from the discus to the shot put pan out?
Brandon Johnson placed fourth in the high school boys discus at the Drake Relays and now he will be trying his hand in the shot put at state.
Johnson qualified for state with a toss of 53 feet, 6.25 inches during the 4A qualifying meet in Indianola on May 14. That ranks 11th among all 4A qualifiers, with the 59-3 effort by Iowa City West’s James Bennett leading the pack.
Even though Johnson will not be favored to reach the finals, it would be foolish to count him out. The UNI football recruit has surpassed expectations all year, dominating against tough competition in football, coming on to be a big weapon in the post after center Marach Dau suffered a season-ending injury, and then exceeding his seed at the Drake Relays.
Will Ballard exceed expectations once again?
The Ballard boys have turned a lot of heads at state over the past three years under coach Darren Herrold.
In 2023, the Ballard boys 4×800 team came out of nowhere to place third in 3A and then freshman Chase Ihle turned in a surprise fourth-place effort in the long jump. The 2024 season saw then-freshman Parker Miller place eighth in the high jump, and Ballard just miss exceeding expectations by placing in the shuttle hurdle and sprint medley relays after taking ninth in both events.
Last year freshman Kanen DeYoung tied Miller for sixth in the high jump.
So the odds favor Ballard continuing the trend of an athlete or relay team far surpassing expectations in 2026. The only question is, who will it be?
Jace Ortner has already come on strong, ranking fifth among 3A qualifiers in the open 400. Ballard also ranks eighth among qualifiers in the 3A 4×400, an event that resulted in a state championship for the Bombers two years ago.
Which smaller-school athletes will step up?
There are a few athletes from smaller schools in the Ames area capable of doing damage at state this week.
In 2A, Roland-Story’s Tristan Crabbs is just outside the top 10 in both the 200 (13th) and 100 (14th). He has the potential to move into the top eight in both events.
Cody Long has a good chance to place in the long jump after qualifying seventh. Roland-Story’s best chance to pick up a medal comes in the 110 high hurdles, where Jayden Strum sits sixth among 2A qualifiers with a qualifying time of 15.02.
In 1A, Colo-NESCO’s Jack Angell could walk away with a pair of medals in hurdles events.
Angell placed seventh in last year’s 1A 110 highs, and he just missed the top eight in the 400 hurdles after coming in ninth. Angell heads into the 2026 state meet ranked fifth in the 400 hurdles (55.53) and seventh in the 110 highs (14.93).
Who will surprise?
There is bound to be an Ames-area athlete or relay team go above and beyond what they were expected to do at state.
What athletes have the potential to make a surprise appearance on the medal stand? Can a young up-and-comer that was not ranked among the top qualifiers in his event win a state title?
Is Gilbert strong enough to make a run at the 3A team title? Will Ballard place in the top 10 of the 3A team standings?
Stay tuned from May 21-23 to find out.
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: 5 Ames-area boys track and field storylines to watch at the state meet
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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