Down the tunnel beneath the south end of the stadium, Channing Puls let the final hours of the Drake Relays pass him by.

The Hudson senior's running and jumping were done. He had secured a pair of seconds in the hurdle events and a fifth in the long jump. Outside, enthusiastic fans watched a swirl of rain, arms, legs and heart finish the 100th Relays.

In the tunnel, as he leaned over a barricade, Puls didn't look for the light. He sought the next big meet.

"It's gonna be a tough conference this year," Puls said. "It'll be interesting to see who comes out on top."

Puls was talking about the North Iowa Cedar League co-ed meet, set for Monday at Denver's new facility. Of course, the NICL won't match the Drake Relays in pomp, circumstance and resumes. There won't be any Olympic gold medalists there. And the winner of the beautiful bulldog contest is not scheduled to appear.

So why should we care? For one thing, it'll be a very good high school track and field event.

The top three long jumpers in Class 2A should compete - Puls, Dike-New Hartford's David Weber and Weber's teammate and freshly crowned Drake Relays champion, Sid Hansen.

On the girls' side, Hannah Willms has just set an Iowa all-time best in the high jump. The Dike New-Hartford junior and future Iowa State Cyclone is worth watching the minute she steps on the oval.

The team races figure to be good. Dike-New Hartford and Hudson should contend for both the boys and girls titles, with schools like Union High and Denver also in the mix.

"Between Hudson and us, it's gonna be a chess match," said Barry Cuvelier, the Wolverines' head boys track coach. "We'll be looking to see where the strengths are. Hudson is very talented this year - just really strong athletes."

Said Jacinda Canfield, the head coach of the Pirate girls, "I think this should be one of our toughest years. It seems to get tougher and tougher to win."

The NICL has been a good track conference before. Under Bob Lee, NU High's boys claimed five state championships between 1986 and 1991. At the end of the 1988 meet, Dick Juhl's Dike Bobcats finished second behind the Panthers in Class 2A.

Aplington-Parkersburg's girls won a state title in 2001. The next year, NU High finished on top.

So there's history and talent here. An event like the NICL track meet also gives fans a chance to appreciate sports at its roots - the high school level. This is where the good ones grow, whether the name is Trev Alberts (who ran for NU in the late 1980s) or Hannah Willms.

One more thing. The NICL meet should be a preview for two excellent 2A district competitions. Six of the conference schools, Hudson, Dike-New Hartford and Denver among them, will be matched up with state meet berths on the line.

"It gives you that level of familiarity," Canfield said. "We've competed a lot against Dike-New Hartford. It's good to have an idea of what they're going to run and what relays they'll load up."

One misstep here, a false start there, and some outstanding athletes may not make the trip to Des Moines in late May.

"You definitely have to be at your best at district time," Cuvelier said.

The boys and girls in the NICL will try to sharpen their form Monday at the conference meet. It'll be neighbor against neighbor, one recognizable face seeing another. It's the best of what prep sports can be.

This track meet is something a high school kid in a tunnel can love.

Contact Jim Sullivan at (319) 291-1434 or jim.sullivan@wcfcourier.com