Davis County Middle School track coach Shane Blake has been named the Iowa Association of Track Coaches’ Middle School Track and Field Coach of the Year for boys, joining Rochelle Svestka of Stillwell in West Des Moines as the co-recipient of the honor for the girls side.
The IATC Junior High and Middle School Coach of the Year award is an at-large honor voted on by IATC members. Only one coach per sport is selected from all schools across the state of Iowa, unless two outstanding nominations are identified — one for each gender. Requirements for nomination include longevity and outstanding success at the junior high or middle school level, active promotion of the sport at that level, and a career focus on junior high or middle school coaching. Nominations can be submitted by head coaches, athletes, athletic directors, parents, or fans.
The recognition comes after an outstanding spring season for the Davis County Middle School boys program, which finished second in the 8th Grade Small Schools division at the IATC Mike Henderson Boys Middle School Championships on May 9th in Ankeny with 49 points, behind Iowa Falls-Alden with 76.
The team’s top performer at the state meet was Grant Husted, who was nothing short of dominant. Husted won the 200 meter hurdles with a time of 26.94 and the long jump with a mark of 19 feet, 1.5 inches, while finishing second in the 200 meter dash with a time of 24.15. The 4×800 meter relay team of Jacob Harsch, Connor Garland, Miles Rodgers, and Blaze Sorensen placed third with a time of 9:34.74, and the 4×400 meter relay team of Jacob Harsch, Blaze Sorensen, Connor Garland, and Grant Husted finished fourth with a time of 3:56.21. Blaze Sorensen also placed fourth in the high jump at 5 feet, 2 inches, and Griffen Fite placed fourth in the discus with a throw of 118 feet, 7 inches.
On the girls side, seventh grader Akiya Cason represented Davis County at the IATC Mike Henderson Girls Middle School Championships on May 9th in Waukee, finishing third in the 400 meter run with a time of 1:05.95 and fourth in the 200 meter run with a time of 28.67.
Husted continued his strong season at the IATC Outdoor Championships on June 6th in Iowa City, where he recorded two first-place finishes and three second-place finishes.
Blake expressed deep gratitude for the recognition and was quick to credit those around him. “It was a very humbling award, being selected the Middle School Track Coach of the Year in which only one coach and school received this award from all the schools in the state of Iowa,” he said. “It’s credit to Coley Hanes, my assistant coach, and the Davis County Middle School Track team. We had an outstanding season winning the conference track meet back to back years and finishing runner-up in the middle school state track meet. We have established a strong tradition in track and field at the middle school level and beyond, with credit to many other successful teams in the past that paved the way for this group.”
Blake also reflected on a 29-year coaching career shaped by mentors and a deep commitment to developing young athletes. “I have been truly blessed to be able to coach and make a difference in so many lives for 29 years as varsity assistant or head middle school coach,” he said. “I’ve been blessed to have been coached by Hall of Fame coaches like Dave Vogelgesang and Paul Sesker at Tipton, Iowa, who I also got to be their assistant on two varsity state runner-up teams, Greg Williams of Monticello on a state championship team, and Denny Anderson and Josh Husted at Davis County where we had many varsity conference championships and a team that finished third in the state meet. So you could say I have been blessed with great coaches and athletes.”
He said the philosophy that has guided his career is simple but powerful. “I’ve always taken the attitude that no matter what you’re coaching, where you’re coaching, or what level you’re coaching — be the best you can be,” Blake said. “Make that athlete or that time important; they deserve your best. Every athlete can improve if they have the right mindset, and that’s so important today. Building grit, confidence, and humility can be developed in any athlete at any level if you make it important. My greatest award or accomplishment is when I see those middle school athletes or high school athletes that face life’s challenges and difficulties and remember — we are Mustangs. Rain, snow, or shine, we don’t bend to the elements.”
Davis County Activities Director Dave Mason also spoke to Blake’s impact on the program. “Coach Blake is very passionate about track and field,” Mason said. “He puts in a lot of time for all of our kids, middle school through high school. He really had to develop kids this last spring to have the kind of team success we endured.”
