Junior Tommy Tyynismaa crosses the finish line in the 800 meter run winning his fourth career WaMac Championship. PHOTO BY JONATHAN MEYER

The stage was set for some fast running at the 2024 Iowa City Track and Field Festival this last Saturday at Iowa City West High School. This meet brings some of the best runners from all around the state to one track for some competitive racing, which along with the warm weather made for a great opportunity for successful performances.

South Tama was able to qualify several runners into this meet. Senior Tommy Tyynismaa was entered into the 800 meter dash, while senior James Brant qualified into the 1600 meter race, and finally the Trojans 4×100 squad of Chase Gustafson, Cody Blocker, Tyrus Clegg and Nick Upah also qualified to run on this day.

The first race up for the Trojans was Tyynismaa in the 800 meter dash. As Tyynismaa toed the line there was one goal on his mind, which was to go under the Drake blue standard time of 1:56 to automatically qualify him for the Drake Relays.

Last year, Tyynismaa placed fifth in the 800 at Drake with an impressive time of 1:54.25. As the race got underway, the pace was fast and set up perfectly for Tyynismaa to achieve the Drake standard.

Tyynismaa sat behind Des Moines Christian’s Caleb Ten Pas for the first lap before dropping an impressive surge with 300 meters left to take the lead. As Tyynismaa separated from the field, it became more and more apparent that his time was going to be well below the Drake standard, and as he crossed the finish line in first place, the time read 1:54.12. Not only did Tyynismaa solidify his spot in the Drake relays, but he also ran a state leading time in this event.

After the race Tyynismaa, who was excited to get back to Drake for the second year in a row, reflected on his performance.

“It’s a big relief to qualify and hit my first blue standard ever, especially since I had a delayed start to my season with an injury,” he said. “I look forward to competing with the nest in the state and being able to push myself to my limits.”

Following Tyynismaa’s impressive performance, Brant toed the start line for his 1600 meter race. Similarly to the 800 race, this race also got off to a fast start as the lead group formed quickly with Brant running well right in the middle of it.

Brant would go on to finish strong with a solid time of 4:29.01 which placed him sixth overall in this loaded field of runners. The Trojans 4×100 team also competed well at this meet as they finished 14th overall with a time of 46.06. The STC sprinting squad has improved greatly throughout the season and this meet served as a good test as they make the push towards a state meet appearance later in May.

The Trojans were back in action on April 18 at Newton High School for the Cardinal Invitational. Tyynismaa will compete in the 800 meter dash at the Drake relays on April 26 as he looks to improve on last year’s strong performance.