The week of April 19-25 saw the 116th Drake Relays take place at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
There were several incredible performances from male high school track and field athletes from the Des Moines metro area during the Relays. It was also another busy week of high school boys golf, soccer and tennis featuring athletes from the metro area.
Several male athletes stood out in all four sports during the week.
Here are the Des Moines Register’s male Athlete of the Week candidates from the Des Moines metro area for the week of April 19-25. DesMoinesRegister.com readers vote to determine the winners, who will be announced at the end of the week.
Ajak Malual, Waukee
Malual hit an elite height in winning the boys high jump during the Drake Relays on April 23 in Des Moines.
Malual cleared the bar at seven feet even during his second attempt. He beat the 6-10 effort by Benton Community’s Eli Patterson for first.
Kaiden Kunze, Norwalk
Kunze won both the boys 400-meter dash and long jump during the Drake Relays on April 24 in Des Moines.
Kunze took first in the boys open 400 with a time of 47.60 seconds. He won the long jump with a distance of 23 feet, 8.25 inches, which was 1.5 feet farther than any other boys long jumper at the meet.
Hayden Carlson, Ankeny
Carlson won the boys 110 high hurdles at the Drake Relays on April 25 in Des Moines.
Carlson was the only runner to break 14 seconds during the final. He crossed the finish line in 13.80 to comfortably win the race by 0.35 seconds.
Easton Moon, North Polk
Moon went 2-0 during the No. 1 singles competition for the North Polk boys tennis team during a triangular with Johnston and Southeast Polk on April 20 at Pleasant Hill.
Moon defeated Johnston’s Srihari Kumaresan by an 8-4 score during the Comets’ 9-2 loss to the Dragons. He scored an 8-0 shutout over Southeast Polk’s Micah Christiansen during North Polk’s 8-3 victory over the Rams.
Brandon Hernandez-Contreras, Des Moines Lincoln
Hernandez-Contreras had an excellent game for the Des Moines Lincoln boys soccer team during a 6-0 victory over Des Moines East on April 21 in Des Moines.
Hernandez-Contreras went for one goal and assists apiece in helping the Railsplitters improve to 4-1-2 on the season. Hernandez Contreras now has a team-high six goals on the season.
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: Vote for the Register male Athlete of the Week for April 19-25
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Des Moines Register / Ames Tribune
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