In prep boys track and field, qualifying for the Drake Relays is on the checklist for many. That box was checked for junior 400 meter specialist Zach VanWychen after punching his ticket to the blue oval at the 88th annual Jessie Day Relays. 

VanWychen toed the line of lane three, seeded third entering the race. This was just extra motivation for what was about to happen.

“The Assumption racers had their seed times higher than mine, but I knew I was actually faster. I was really focused on beating them. Usually I focus more on time, but today I was just focused on winning the race,” VanWychen said. 

This change of focus fueled what was nearly a two second personal best for VanWychen. 

However, VanWychen’s success from the season is no mystery. In his sophomore season, VanWychen had a personal best of 53.33; to get that time down nearly four seconds in one season, the junior spent many hours throughout the offseason in the weight room, and on the track.

“I hit it pretty hard in the offseason, I was doing some kind of workout every day so that helps quite a bit. I’ve also shifted my mentality to really know what I want to accomplish this season,” said VanWychen.

Going sub-50 has been a goal of VanWychen’s for a long time, and he was overjoyed after hearing girls coach Evan Deuth tell him he hit that mark. VanWychen let out a yell, hugged Deuth, and clapped his hands together in celebration.

“It was pretty exciting, but obviously there is still some work to be done,” said VanWychen.

Looking forward, VanWychen hopes to drop another second off of his time by the time the state meet rolls around.