Cedar Rapids Prairie junior Tysen VanDraska is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school boys this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

VanDraska, one of the top distance runners in the state, has gotten off to a strong start this spring.

He finished second in the 1,600-meter run at the Iowa State Classic in Ames on Tuesday in 4 minutes, 25.6 seconds. Thomas Pollard of Gilbert nipped VanDraska in that race by 18-hundredths of a second in 4:25.42.

Pollard and VanDraska rank 1-2 in the state in the 1,600, according to the IHSAA website.

VanDraska finished his week by winning the 3,200 at the Central College indoor meet in 10 minutes, 27.37 seconds.

VanDraska placed fourth in the 800 meter run in 1:54.79 at the Class 4A state track meet last May as a sophomore. He finished seventh at the Class 4A state cross country meet this past fall, helping Prairie place second in the team standings.