CEDAR FALLS - Jacob Tayloe and the Cedar Falls Tigers aren't half-stepping into the 2009 track season.

With a 1,600-meter time that slashed a whopping 14 seconds off his personal record, Tayloe set the tone and the pace for a Tiger squad that shot out of the blocks Tuesday at the Mississippi Valley Conference indoor meet at the UNI-Dome.

Tayloe's run of 4 minutes, 36.19 seconds wasn't enough to net first place as Cedar Rapids Washington standout Lewi Manirumva edged him out with a 4:36.01, but it more than met the Cedar Falls junior's goal coming in.

"I hoped to just get into the 30s, so I think a 36 qualifies," Tayloe said. "The whole team has put in a lot of mileage over the fall and winter, and it's been great having coach (Jeff) Hartman as our distance coach this year."

The metro schools were shut out of the first-place stand amid an MVC field that featured five of the top eight Class 4A teams from last year's state meet. The Tigers did collect three second-place finishes and four thirds in an effort that satisfied coach Bob Schmidt.

"Our numbers are outstanding, and we've got a lot of freshmen out, which is great," Schmidt said. "We've got a lot of good, young talent, but some of our rawness is showing, too. We left a couple of batons on the track and things like that."

One experienced Tiger is senior Jordan Velasquez, who showed the way with a third-place finish in the 800 (1:59.82) and a second in the 400, where he went two-three with teammate Jesse Alexander.

"Jordan has had a great career here at C.F., and he's running very well so far this year, so we're looking for great things from him," Schmidt said.

The Tigers also got a second-place finish in the 4x100 relay, along with thirds in the 200 (Zach Verbeck, 23.52) and the high jump (Kyle Bernard, 5 feet, 10 inches).

The most eye-opening performance of the meet was turned in by Cedar Rapids Kennedy speedster Kyle Slaymaker, who ran away with the 400 (50.91) and the 200 (22.72) by lopsided margins.

Waterloo East sprinter Ricondis Martin raised some eyebrows, too, with his 6.98 in the 60 meters, the only sub-7 60 other than Iowa City High senior Kevin Dibbern (6.91), who placed in the state's top 10 in both the 100 and 200 last year.

Trojan hurdler Harrison Shelby qualified for state last year, but was less than satisfied with his fifth-place 8.85 in the 60-meter hurdles Tuesday.

"My speed is fine, but I need to get my form down," Shelby said. "I probably won't get my time down where I want it until a couple of meets before Drake."

The Trojans claimed third-place finishes in the long jump (Darius Washington, 20-75) and the 4x100 (45.73), while Demetrius Tillman claimed fifth in a tough 400 field with a time of 54.97.

Waterloo West split its squad Tuesday with most of the upperclassmen in action at the Iowa State Invitational in Ames. That gave an opportunity to some of the younger Wahawks, like freshman Brady Heckenlively, who won his heat with a 5:20.91 in his first 1,600-meter race.

"I didn't think I was going to be able to do it, but along about the last lap I started feeling pretty great," Heckenlively said.

Contact Brian Pals at brian.pals@wcfcourier.com

3,200 - 1. Frank Canady (Iowa City West) 9:42.84; 2. Scott Mittman (Iowa City High) 9:49.41; 3. Kody Fitzerrals (Dubuque Senior) 10:11.30. Cedar Falls: Joe Sevcik 10:37.03, Adam Streicher 10:47.03. Waterloo West: Jake Porter 11:38.56, Brandon Walker 11:50.88.

4x800 - 1. City High 8:31.50; 2. Linn-Mar 8:41.66; 3. Dubuque Senior 8:50.31. Cedar Falls - 9:29.70; Waterloo West 9:32.63.

SHUTTLE HURDLE - 1. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 36.10; 2. Cedar Rapids Washington 36.32; 3. Iowa City West 36.66. Cedar Falls - 38.25; Waterloo West A - 40.85; Waterloo West B - 44.25.

60 - 1. Kevin Dibbern (ICH) 6.91; 2. Ricondis Martin (WE) 6.98; 3. Shay Hoffman (CRJ) 7.08. Cedar Falls: Josh Fuller 7.19, Luke Togosi 7.28, Brent Bogardus 7.54, Alex Crow 7.68. Waterloo East - Martin 6.98, Shondis Washington 7.17, Terrane Gaffney 7.83, Wesley Bates 7.96. Waterloo West: Zach Kolberg 7.60, Carlos Woods 7.63, Marshaun Cooper 8.16, Eric Alderman 8.76.

400 - 1. Kyle Slaymaker 50.91; 2. Jordan Velasquez (CF) 52.60; 3. Jesse Alexander (CF) 54.20. Cedar Falls: Velasquez 52.60, Alexander 54.20, John Gogola 55.70, Jay Brummel 58.70. Waterloo East: Demetrius Tillman 54.97, Darius Bowie 57.48, Jeremy Baugh 1:00.17, Colton Rathe 1:03.24. Waterloo West: Anthony Burton 1:01.47, Cody Carlson 1:01.94, Kevin Storey 1:03.72.

4x200 - 1. Cedar Rapids Washington 1:33.04; 2. Cedar Rapids Jefferson 1:35.54; 3. City High 1:35.94. Cedar Falls - 1:42.31; Waterloo East - 1:37.44.

1,600 - 1. Lewi Manirumva (CRW) 4:36.01; 2. Jacob Tayloe (CF) 4:36.19; 3. Jacob Gerber (CRJ) 4:36.59. Cedar Falls: Tayloe 4:36.19, Jacob Stoner 4:51.70, Tanner Reyhons 4:53.20, Jesse Streicher 5:46.28. Waterloo East: Jacob Lichty 6:24.68. Waterloo West: Dan O'Brien 5:10.16, Brady Heckenlively 5:20.91, Dylan Cutsforth 5:28.89, Carter Kammeyer 5:36.72.

60 HURDLES - 1. L. Johnson (CRW) 8.42; 2. Peter Dolan (ICW) 8.52; 3. Cameron Bradley (CRK) 8.59. Cedar Falls: Spencer Mowatt 8.93, Adam Pacquette 9.35, Ryan Cuvelier 10.77. Waterloo East: Harrison Shelby III 8.85. Waterloo West: Aaron Mazzarella 10.16, Clayton Steimel 10.91.

200 - 1. Slaymaker (CRK) 22.72; 2. Alex Carrr (CRW) 23.25; 3. Zach Verbeck (CF) 23.52. Cedar Falls: Verbeck 23.52, Blake Davis 23.80, Marshall Hill 24.47, Brummel 24.76. Waterloo East: Washington 24.30, Tevin Browne 24.44, Tillman 24.48, Bowie 25.10. Waterloo West: Tyrell Martin 24.79, Jalen Young 25,82, Carolos Woods 26.91, Carlson 26.94.

MEDLEY RELAY - 1. Dubuque Hempstead 3:53.65; 2. City High 3:55.88; 3. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 3:58.50. Cedar Falls - 3:59.44; Waterloo West 4:25.66.

800 - 1. Anthony Crawley (CRK) 1:57.17; 2. Andrew Mitchell (ICW) 1:58.51; 3. Velasquez (CF) 1:59.82. Cedar Falls: Velasquez 1:59.82, Tayloe 2:06.71, Stoner 2:10.03, Ryan Moore 2:29.22. Waterloo East: Demetre VanArsdale 2:28.45, Lichty 2:52.80. Waterloo West: Walker 2:33.97, Porter 2:34.60.

4x100 - 1. Cedar Rapids Washington 45.17; 2. Cedar Falls 45.33; 3. Waterloo East 45.73.

4x400 - 1. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 3:33.98; 2. Dubuque Hempstead 3:40.38; 3. Iowa City High 3:40.41. Cedar Falls A - 3:48.52; Cedar Falls B - 4:08.27; Waterloo East 3:51.88; Waterloo West A 4:05.06; Waterloo West B 4:12.44.

HIGH JUMP - 1. Mitchell (ICW) 6-0; 2. Max Martino (CRK) 6-0; 3. Kyle Bernard (CF) 5-10. Cedar Falls: Bernard 5-10, Barkley Hill 5-10, Luke Meyers 5-2, Dan Conway 5-0. Waterloo West: Alex Brown 5-0.

LONG JUMP - 1. Charles Rogers (ICW) 21-1.75; 2. Robert Hogg 20-8.5; 3. Darius Washington (WE) 20-7.5. Cedar Falls: Hill 18-7.75, Josh Fuller 17-6.5, K.C. Groomes 17-1, Josh Fristo 16-10.75. Waterloo East - D. Washington 20-7.5, Bowie 1-1.5. Waterloo West: Dequandis Humphrey 16-10.5, Isiah Williams 16-10.0, Bart Hansen 15-5.5.

SHOT PUT - 1. Kevin harp (ICH) 52-0; 2. Tucker Tholen (ICH) 47-2; 3. Shawn Aubee (CRJ) 46-4.25. Cedar Falls: Mike Bangston 40-8, Stratton Steffy 40-2.5, Andy Knapp 38-6.5, Dylan Bane 35-7.5. Waterloo East: Cameron Anvick 31-0. Waterloo West: Andrew Martin 36-6.5, Russ Nabholtz 35-8, Cody Carlson 31-8, Wynston Bailey 26-8, Jesse Wolf 21-3.5.