ADM boys 4x200 relay team sets all-time record in Iowa state track meet title win

It was supposed to come down to top-seeded Harlan versus 2-seed Adel-De Soto-Minburn in the Class 3A boys 4x200 relay for the Iowa state title.

Friday’s race had all the makings of a photo finish: A sunny track with little wind, two squads led by some of the best football players in the state, seven one-hundredths of a second separating the two top qualifying times.

But this is track, and not everything goes according to plan.

And it was a perfect finish, but not for the top team.

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The ADM squad of Aiden Flora, Grant Rychnovsky, Zach Lohmann and Brevin Doll wasted no time – literally – securing the win. It was never much of a challenge either after Harlan dropped the baton on the exchange going into the third leg.

It was all about the Tigers from that point on.

“The boys did a good job of getting me a lead, and then once I saw Harlan go down, I knew I just needed to get that baton and bring it home for the team,” Doll said.

ADM did more than bring home a state title, though.

The Tigers finished in 1:25.55, setting an Iowa all-time best record. It marked the first time ever – across all four classes – that any Iowa high school program ran a sub-1:26 in the event.

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It was a special moment for the quartet of seniors, who grew up competing in several sports together.

“It feels good to do it with boys you grew up with,” Lohmann said. “It’s special.”

Those four Tigers secured their spot in the record books, but it might take some time for the magnitude of their accomplishment to sink in.

“It still hasn’t set in yet,” Rychnovsky said. “It’s something special, something that we’ll remember forever.”

ADM isn’t finished yet.

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The celebrations for their record-breaking race won’t last long, because their sights are already set on something else.

“Then we’re gonna win the 4x100,” Lohmann and Flora said in unison.

The Tigers might be well on their way to that goal, with a group led by Flora and Doll tying an all-time best mark with a time of 41.33 in the 4x100 prelims Friday to qualify for Saturday's final. That matches a record that's been held by Iowa City High since 1996, although the Little Hawks record came during a post-grad invitational held in North Carolina.

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel .

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: ADM boys 4x200 relay team sets all-time record in Iowa state track meet title win