CEDAR FALLS - Before they could star at Cedar Rapids Prairie, all three members of the Dellamuth family had to prove they could survive their own fiercely competitive battles at home.

That goes for Madison as well as her two brothers, Austin and Mitchell. The competitive spirit runs deep.

"All three of us have it. Me, my brother and my sister," Austin Dellamuth said Monday during the Dickinson Relays at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. "We get in fights a lot playing sports."

They even get into friendly fights at the ping-pong table. "Everything," Austin said, smiling. "Just everything."

Austin is a senior. Madison and Mitchell, who are twins, are sophomores. And all three of them have made their mark in Prairie athletics this year.

Madison made third team all-state in basketball. Mitchell made second team all-conference in football last fall and is a member of the track team. Austin also played football, and now he's running on a 4x400 meter relay team that appears to have great potential this spring.

Prairie blazed to victory in the 4x400 relay at the Dickinson Relays in 3 minutes, 27.79 seconds, which would have been fast enough to finish seventh at the Class 4A state track meet in Des Moines last May. And remember, the Hawks ran their 3:27.79 indoors on a 200-meter track, with more twists and turns than they'll have on a 400-meter course when they get outdoors this spring.

Austin Dellamuth got the relay started with a strong burst and gave Tristan Beyer a nice lead, free of traffic. Beyer widened the gap and gave the baton to Jacob Aune, who pushed the lead even further and gave the stick to Demetrius Harper, who sprinted across the finish line with no one else in sight.

Davenport West finished a distant second in the 4x400 relay in 3:33.42, nearly six seconds behind. It was an impressive showing by the Prairie quartet.

"There's not really one best runner on our team. All four of us compete for the top spot," Dellamuth said.

West Des Moines Valley won the 4x400 relay at the state track meet last May in 3:18.70, so the Hawks were only 9.09 seconds behind on a smaller indoor track in mid-March. Prairie qualified for the state meet in the 4x400 last year but failed to place.

Dellamuth did not run on the 4x400 relay at the state meet as a junior, but he's firmly entrenched on the unit now. He's gotten stronger since last season and is already several seconds ahead of his pace in the 400 from a year ago.

"I'm not very big, but I've been lifting. I've been trying to get stronger," said Dellamuth, who was listed at 5-foot-11 and 145 pounds during the football season. "There's a lot of competition on this team, so that helps."

Dellamuth was a winner at the Dickinson Relays Monday, but he tied for second in his family's basketball game of P-I-G on Sunday against Madison and Mitchell.

"We played four games yesterday," he said. "Mitch won one, Maddie won one and I won one. She beat us the last one."

Madison Dellamuth is a basketball player, so that makes sense, but you have to remember that she tore the ACL in her knee in the last game of the season and will have surgery in a few weeks. "Yeah, she beat us with a torn ACL," Austin admitted.

Dellamuth placed second in the open 400 meter dash Monday in 52.67 seconds. Nathan Davis of Clarion-Goldfield won the race in 52.00 seconds. Beyer finished fourth in the 400 for Prairie in 52.85.

Aune placed second in the 1600 meter run in 4:33.72. Riley Wattier of Waukee won the event in 4:31.54.

Mitch Pritts placed sixth for Prairie in the 800 (2:05.21) and Harper finished seventh in the 200 meter dash (23.73). The Hawks placed third in the 4x200 relay (1:35.82) and finished eighth in the 4x800 relay (8:41.43).

Linn-Mar took only a few athletes to the Dickinson Relays, but they took the right guy in the 60 meter hurdles. Brandon Ophoff won his fourth straight title this month with an 8.29 clocking in the 60-meter hurdles. He's also won hurdles titles in Waverly, Iowa City and Ames.

"It's going well so far. I'm excited," he said. "Hopefully, outdoors goes the same way.

"I still have a long ways to go. I'm trying to focus on the long-term goal," he said. "It's nice that the outdoor season ended up the way it did, but I still have to stay focused. That's the hardest part, is to stay focused for the outdoor season."

Ophoff was especially happy with his victory at the Iowa State meet in Ames. He plans to join the Iowa State track team next year and ISU hurdles coach Nate Wiens watched him compete last week.

"Yeah, that was really nice. That was a lot of fun," Ophoff said. "I wanted to put on a show for them."

DICKINSON RELAYS
Winners

High jump - Justin Randall, Burlington, 6-2.
Long jump - Jerry Westerfield, Davenport North, 22-6 1/2.
Shot put - Avery Meyers, West Liberty, 53-6.
3200 meter run - Adam Streicheer, Cedar Falls, 9:56.86.
4x200 meter relay - Waterloo West, 1:32.97.
4x800 meter relay - Ames, 8:17.97.
1600 meter run - Riley Wattier, Waukee, 4:31.54.
400 meter dash - Nathan Davis, Clarion-Goldfield, 52.00.
60 meter hurdles - Brandon Ophoff, Linn-Mar, 8.29.
60 meter dash - James Harrington, Cedar Falls, 6.97.
200 meter dash - James Harrington, Cedar Falls, 22.83.
800 meter run - Nathan Davis, Clarion-Goldfield, 2:02.3.
4x400 meter relay - Prairie, 3:27.79.