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Katie Willits stands in the middle of the track at Waukee Northwest High School, gripping an aluminum baton and waiting for a signal from her coach.
He readies the camera, presses the red button to start the recording, and nods. The drill is complete in a matter of seconds; the handoff practice went off without a hitch.
The Wolves senior sprinter feels good about that exercise, so she’s on to the next. Willits moves to another corner of the track, where she goes through one more handoff drill. And that’s all Ben Duea, the Waukee Northwest girls track and field head coach, needs to see.
“I think Katie is good,” he says to another coach.
She takes her track spikes off and packs up her backpack, but Willits’ time at practice is not over. She walks to the opposite corner of the stadium, where she finishes with a few hurdling exercises.
Willits – who has competed in eight different individual and relay events this season – is accustomed to bouncing around at practice. She’s also used to being done with one exercise after just a few repetitions.
That is because Willits separated herself and emerged, this season, as one of the top sprinters in the state.
For the Willits family, track and field is just a part of their genetics.
Between her grandfather – Fran Long, a standout at Iowa State and a longtime official – and her uncle, mother and sister, it’s a sport that seems to run in the family. Willits never felt pressure to follow in those footsteps, though.
She tracks her running roots back to recess, and she remembers being among the fastest children in her informal elementary school races. And she tried out almost all the other sports: basketball, dance, gymnastics, soccer and volleyball.
Willits narrowed it down to two sports, track and volleyball. But it wasn’t until after her junior year of high school that she decided to focus on a single sport.
“We have a really good volleyball team, and I knew that – even though I had so much fun practicing and being with the girls – there wasn’t really a chance of me being able to play,” Willits said.
“So, I really started to focus on track, and that’s when I saw the most progress. I surprise myself every time I run, and I always knew I could be good, but I didn’t know to what extent.”
It didn’t take long to see the results.
In the spring after leaving volleyball behind, Willits helped Waukee Northwest to Class 4A titles in the 4x200 and shuttle hurdle relays at the Iowa state track and field meet. She saw her times drop – highlighted by cutting nearly half a minute off her 200-meter dash time.
And in her senior year, she’s become an integral piece of the Wolves’ success.
“She leads by example because of how talented she is, but she also leads by everything she does,” Duea said. “I think a lot of our kids look up to her, and she brings them a sense of comfort because she makes everyone feel good about what they’re doing.”
One look at the statewide statistics shows just how far Willits has come. She holds the top times in Iowa this season for the 100- and 200-meter dashes, and the second-best time in the 100-meter hurdles.
She ran the anchor leg of Waukee Northwest’s 4x100 and 4x200 relays, and the starter in the shuttle hurdle – all of which ran the all-time fastest time in Iowa. She also ran a leg for the Wolves’ sprint medley squad, which boasts the second-best time in the state this season.
There is no shortage of talented athletes on Waukee Northwest’s roster.
But the statistics speak for themselves: The Wolves perform better with Willits in the lineup.
Even with her family’s history of success in the sport, Willits earned her way to the top of Waukee Northwest’s rotation and into the Iowa high school girls track and field record book.
“She’s talented, but you know, she does every daily habit from the time she wakes up to the time she goes to bed to be successful,” Duea said. “She’s gotten so much better since her sophomore year, and that’s a tribute to her, a tribute to her family. She has a great family – a track family – and they push her, as well. But her growth, it’s all been her.”
Few individual athletes experienced as much success at the 2026 Drake Relays as Willits.
She ended the weekend with three white champion's flags after winning the 100-meter dash to go along with the 4x200 and shuttle hurdle relays. She did more than finish in first place, though.
The Wolves put together a string of unprecedented performances, running five of the fastest times in Iowa girls high school history across six relay events. And Willits played a part in three of those historic moments, setting records in the 4x100 (47.06) – in the preliminary round – 4x200 (1:38.40) and shuttle hurdle (59.57).
More: Waukee Northwest girls track rewrites record books at Drake Relays
It's rare for fans to see six records fall in the same weekend, and for a single school to accomplish that feat is anything but ordinary.
But there was one moment which showed that Waukee Northwest is not infallible.
After running the state's all-time best time in the preliminary heats of the 4x100, the Wolves – anchored by Willits – entered the event as the team to beat. But in the final, Waukee Northwest’s baton didn’t make it all the way around the track and Willits never had the opportunity to run.
“With our 4x100, with how we dropped the baton, I just really wanted to finish that race,” Willits said. “Usually, Drake Relays is a step and then we give it our all at state. In past years, we’ve done better at state, and I just know there’s more for us to accomplish at state. So, I think after state is done, I’ll be able to really reflect on what happened this year.”
Between winning three titles and running three all-time Iowa bests, it makes sense that it hasn’t all set in, yet, especially after Willits explained how the final day of Drake Relays went.
On that Saturday morning, April 25, Willits's day began a little before 6 a.m., so she could get to Drake Stadium in time to warm up for the preliminary heats of the shuttle hurdle relay, the first event on the schedule. She competed in four races between preliminary and final heats, and her day didn’t end there.
Immediately following the mishap in the 4x100, Willits headed toward Lincoln, Nebraska. She had tickets to see Luke Bryan – with openers J.R. Carroll and Kings of Leon – at Memorial Stadium, and the show was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. She didn’t get the chance to sleep in the car, struggling with some pent-up adrenaline from the race she didn't run in.
But just like with her final event at Drake Relays, the concert didn’t go as planned.
"There was a huge storm, so (the concert) started closer to 10:45,” Willits said. “Zach Bryan’s set list got cut short; we also went for the openers, and the openers didn’t even get to perform. We missed his opening song because we were trying to get in, so that was sad, too. In the end, it was really fun, but it was a later night.”
More: From show choir to discus, Urbandale's Daxon Kiesau is a Renaissance man
There is no denying that Willits is one of the top high school track athletes in Iowa.
Her times tell the whole story, and after the state track and field meet, she will take her talents to Iowa State, where several of her family members also compete or have competed in the sport.
But winning awards and posting top times isn’t what made Willits fall in love with track. It’s the culture: the way complete strangers will celebrate each other’s accomplishments, and the community that lifts everybody up.
It makes sense that Willits – who doesn’t want to just be known for her times – feels that way. She stuck with the sport because she gets to experience new things and meet new people.
So, who is Willits when she’s not a motion blur moving around the oval?
The Waukee Northwest senior loves to be in the mountains. She spends time with her dogs – English Cream Golden Retrievers named Aspen, who died shortly before Drake Relays, and Luna. She enjoys doing crafts, like a coloring book, to clear her mind before races.
Those are some of the things that make Katie Willits, Katie Willits.
She just so happens to be a pretty good runner, too.
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at [email protected] or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Waukee Northwest girls win, a lot, with Katie Willits on the track
Continue reading...
He readies the camera, presses the red button to start the recording, and nods. The drill is complete in a matter of seconds; the handoff practice went off without a hitch.
The Wolves senior sprinter feels good about that exercise, so she’s on to the next. Willits moves to another corner of the track, where she goes through one more handoff drill. And that’s all Ben Duea, the Waukee Northwest girls track and field head coach, needs to see.
“I think Katie is good,” he says to another coach.
She takes her track spikes off and packs up her backpack, but Willits’ time at practice is not over. She walks to the opposite corner of the stadium, where she finishes with a few hurdling exercises.
Willits – who has competed in eight different individual and relay events this season – is accustomed to bouncing around at practice. She’s also used to being done with one exercise after just a few repetitions.
That is because Willits separated herself and emerged, this season, as one of the top sprinters in the state.
Katie Willits rises to the top, thanks to family roots in track and a lot of hard work
For the Willits family, track and field is just a part of their genetics.
Between her grandfather – Fran Long, a standout at Iowa State and a longtime official – and her uncle, mother and sister, it’s a sport that seems to run in the family. Willits never felt pressure to follow in those footsteps, though.
She tracks her running roots back to recess, and she remembers being among the fastest children in her informal elementary school races. And she tried out almost all the other sports: basketball, dance, gymnastics, soccer and volleyball.
Willits narrowed it down to two sports, track and volleyball. But it wasn’t until after her junior year of high school that she decided to focus on a single sport.
“We have a really good volleyball team, and I knew that – even though I had so much fun practicing and being with the girls – there wasn’t really a chance of me being able to play,” Willits said.
“So, I really started to focus on track, and that’s when I saw the most progress. I surprise myself every time I run, and I always knew I could be good, but I didn’t know to what extent.”
You must be registered for see images attach
It didn’t take long to see the results.
In the spring after leaving volleyball behind, Willits helped Waukee Northwest to Class 4A titles in the 4x200 and shuttle hurdle relays at the Iowa state track and field meet. She saw her times drop – highlighted by cutting nearly half a minute off her 200-meter dash time.
And in her senior year, she’s become an integral piece of the Wolves’ success.
“She leads by example because of how talented she is, but she also leads by everything she does,” Duea said. “I think a lot of our kids look up to her, and she brings them a sense of comfort because she makes everyone feel good about what they’re doing.”
One look at the statewide statistics shows just how far Willits has come. She holds the top times in Iowa this season for the 100- and 200-meter dashes, and the second-best time in the 100-meter hurdles.
She ran the anchor leg of Waukee Northwest’s 4x100 and 4x200 relays, and the starter in the shuttle hurdle – all of which ran the all-time fastest time in Iowa. She also ran a leg for the Wolves’ sprint medley squad, which boasts the second-best time in the state this season.
There is no shortage of talented athletes on Waukee Northwest’s roster.
But the statistics speak for themselves: The Wolves perform better with Willits in the lineup.
Even with her family’s history of success in the sport, Willits earned her way to the top of Waukee Northwest’s rotation and into the Iowa high school girls track and field record book.
You must be registered for see images
“She’s talented, but you know, she does every daily habit from the time she wakes up to the time she goes to bed to be successful,” Duea said. “She’s gotten so much better since her sophomore year, and that’s a tribute to her, a tribute to her family. She has a great family – a track family – and they push her, as well. But her growth, it’s all been her.”
Katie Willits runs her way into the record books at Drake Relays
Few individual athletes experienced as much success at the 2026 Drake Relays as Willits.
She ended the weekend with three white champion's flags after winning the 100-meter dash to go along with the 4x200 and shuttle hurdle relays. She did more than finish in first place, though.
The Wolves put together a string of unprecedented performances, running five of the fastest times in Iowa girls high school history across six relay events. And Willits played a part in three of those historic moments, setting records in the 4x100 (47.06) – in the preliminary round – 4x200 (1:38.40) and shuttle hurdle (59.57).
More: Waukee Northwest girls track rewrites record books at Drake Relays
It's rare for fans to see six records fall in the same weekend, and for a single school to accomplish that feat is anything but ordinary.
You must be registered for see images
But there was one moment which showed that Waukee Northwest is not infallible.
After running the state's all-time best time in the preliminary heats of the 4x100, the Wolves – anchored by Willits – entered the event as the team to beat. But in the final, Waukee Northwest’s baton didn’t make it all the way around the track and Willits never had the opportunity to run.
“With our 4x100, with how we dropped the baton, I just really wanted to finish that race,” Willits said. “Usually, Drake Relays is a step and then we give it our all at state. In past years, we’ve done better at state, and I just know there’s more for us to accomplish at state. So, I think after state is done, I’ll be able to really reflect on what happened this year.”
Between winning three titles and running three all-time Iowa bests, it makes sense that it hasn’t all set in, yet, especially after Willits explained how the final day of Drake Relays went.
On that Saturday morning, April 25, Willits's day began a little before 6 a.m., so she could get to Drake Stadium in time to warm up for the preliminary heats of the shuttle hurdle relay, the first event on the schedule. She competed in four races between preliminary and final heats, and her day didn’t end there.
Immediately following the mishap in the 4x100, Willits headed toward Lincoln, Nebraska. She had tickets to see Luke Bryan – with openers J.R. Carroll and Kings of Leon – at Memorial Stadium, and the show was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. She didn’t get the chance to sleep in the car, struggling with some pent-up adrenaline from the race she didn't run in.
You must be registered for see images attach
But just like with her final event at Drake Relays, the concert didn’t go as planned.
"There was a huge storm, so (the concert) started closer to 10:45,” Willits said. “Zach Bryan’s set list got cut short; we also went for the openers, and the openers didn’t even get to perform. We missed his opening song because we were trying to get in, so that was sad, too. In the end, it was really fun, but it was a later night.”
More: From show choir to discus, Urbandale's Daxon Kiesau is a Renaissance man
Katie Willits wants to be known for more than running
There is no denying that Willits is one of the top high school track athletes in Iowa.
Her times tell the whole story, and after the state track and field meet, she will take her talents to Iowa State, where several of her family members also compete or have competed in the sport.
But winning awards and posting top times isn’t what made Willits fall in love with track. It’s the culture: the way complete strangers will celebrate each other’s accomplishments, and the community that lifts everybody up.
It makes sense that Willits – who doesn’t want to just be known for her times – feels that way. She stuck with the sport because she gets to experience new things and meet new people.
So, who is Willits when she’s not a motion blur moving around the oval?
The Waukee Northwest senior loves to be in the mountains. She spends time with her dogs – English Cream Golden Retrievers named Aspen, who died shortly before Drake Relays, and Luna. She enjoys doing crafts, like a coloring book, to clear her mind before races.
Those are some of the things that make Katie Willits, Katie Willits.
She just so happens to be a pretty good runner, too.
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at [email protected] or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Waukee Northwest girls win, a lot, with Katie Willits on the track
Continue reading...
