Stafford makes Register’s All-Elite track team

The Des Moines Register released its 2023 All-Iowa boys track teams earlier this week. The Union area had one athlete named to the Elite Team, which features the best of the best.

Mid-Prairie sophomore Jayden Stafford, a Drake Relays and state champion, represented the Golden Hawks on the list.

Stafford had huge weekend at the state track meet, winning three of the four wheelchair events. Stafford won the 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter races.

Washington’s Elijah Morris was the lone Union area name on the Class 3A first team. Stafford was the only athlete on the Class 2A list.

The area had two Class 1A honorees. State long jump champion Cam Buffington of Winfield-Mount Union made the list, as did 110-meter high hurdle champion Triston Miller.

Listed below are the 2023 All-Des Moines Register Iowa high school boys track teams.

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Elite team

Duke Faley, Sr., Dubuque Wahlert

Faley dominated the throwing events at the state meet, winning the shot put with a throw of 58 feet, 2.75 inches and the discus with a throw of 195 feet, 1 inch. His discus distance put him in the top 10 for longest throws of all-time in Iowa, just behind former Mount Vernon star Tristan Wirfs.

Jackson Heidesch, Sr., Dowling Catholic

Heidesch won state titles in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter races at the Iowa state track meet, but that’s not even the highlight of the successful distance runner’s senior season. Just weeks after state, he ran a 3:59.08 mile at the Hoka Festival of Miles, becoming the first Iowa prep ever to run a sub-four-minute mile.

Austin Kunkle, Sr., ACGC

Kunkle capped his senior season with first-place finishes in the 100 and 200-meter dashes at the state track meet. His time of 10.52 seconds in the 100 and 21.69 seconds in the 200 were both state record-setting performances.

Chase Lauman, Sr., Pella

One look at the top times for the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runs makes it clear that Chase Lauman is in a league of his own among Class 3A competition. He won the state title in both of those events, as well as the 800-meter race. The only event he didn’t win was the distance medley relay, but he did anchor Pella to a second-place finish.

Christian Janis, Sr., Iowa City West

Janis’ teammate, Izaiah Loveless, could just as easily be on this list, because both athletes had successful regular and post seasons has individuals and in relays together. But Janis brought home four first-place medals at state track: Distance medley, shuttle hurdle, 4x100 and 4x200. He was the anchor for the shuttle hurdle and the 4x100 winning squads.

Will Neuharth, Sr., Harlan

So, this Harlan senior definitely took home some hardware at the state track meet. He finished first in the 100 and 200-meter dashes and helped Harlan to victories in the 4x100 and 4x200 relays. He threw in a couple of record-breaking performances in those events, as well.

Ryce Reynolds, Jr., Mount Ayr

It might be difficult to find a more successful track athlete in Class 1A. Reynolds won the state title in the 400-meter dash and the 400-meter hurdles as a sophomore, and then he repeated that feat again this year, becoming the first athlete in Iowa history to do so. He also set state records in both events, won the distance medley and placed second in the sprint medley.

Abu Sama, Sr., Southeast Polk

Sama holds the all-time longest jump (24 feet, 10 inches) in Iowa high school history, so it makes sense that he would finish off his high school career on top. He won the state title in the long jump, leaping 22-11, and he finished in the top five in the 100 and 200. He also won his signature event at the Drake Relays with a long jump of 23 feet, 6.25 inches.

Jayden Stafford, So., Mid-Prairie

The up-and-coming competitor in the wheelchair division impressed at the Drake Relays and dominated at the state meet, winning titles in the 100, 200 and 400-meter races. There’s a strong chance he would’ve won the 800, as well, had Stafford not tipped and crashed going around one of the curves.

Miles Thompson, Sr., Cedar Rapids Washington

This Texas Tech-bound senior was the fastest high schooler in the state this year. Seriously, his 10.37 second time in the preliminary round of the 100-meter dash at the Drake Relays was the fastest all season and No. 2 all-time in Iowa. Thompson continued that success into state track, winning the title in the 100 and 200 and finishing in the top 10 in the 4x100 and 4x200.

Class 4A First Team

Jackson Belding, Jr., Ankeny Nicholas Gorsich, Sr., Linn-Mar

Jackson Heidesch, Sr., Dowling Catholic

TJ Jackson, Sr., Linn-Mar Christian Janis, Sr., Iowa City West Gabe Nash, Sr., Sioux City North Abu Sama, Sr., Southeast Polk Miles Thompson, Sr., Cedar Rapids Washington Ford Washburn, Sr., Iowa City High Johnston 800-meter sprint relay team (Tatum Fox, Owen Ellsworth, Kaia Fox, Jashua Anglo)

Class 3A First Team

Duke Faley, Sr., Dubuque Wahlert Zach Fall, Sr., Mount Vernon Sione Fifita, Sr., Le Mars Brandon Fischer, Sr., Pella Grayson Hartman, Sr., Xavier Chase Lauman, Sr., Pella Elijah Morris, Sr., Washington Will Neuharth, Sr., Harlan Tristan Rheingans, Jr., Central DeWitt Jack Riley, Sr., West Burlington

Class 2A First Team

Jaden Damiano, Jr., Iowa Falls-Alden

Beckett DeJean, Sr., OABCIG

Owen Douglas, Sr., Williamsburg Aaron Fynaardt, Sr., Des Moines Christian Anthony Isley, Sr., Mediapolis Spencer Kessel, Sr., Louisa-Muscatine Logan Rosas, Jr., Mediapolis Jayden Stafford, So., Mid-Prairie Trevor Veenstra, Jr., Pella Christian Derek Weisskopf, Jr., Williamsburg

Class 1A First Team

Landon Bendgen, Jr., Woodbine Ian Blowe, Jr., Akron-Westfield AJ Bonnesen, Sr., Danville Cam Buffington, Jr., Winfield-Mt. Union Eli Johnson, Fr., Bedford Isaiah Johnson, Jr., George-Little Rock Austin Kunkle, Sr., ACGC Triston Miller, Sr., Columbus Ryce Reynolds, Jr., Mount Ayr Baylor Speidel, Jr., Lisbon