![Garrett off and running](https://i0.wp.com/montezumamagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Garrett-off-and-running.jpg?resize=678%2C381&ssl=1)
DES MOINES – You want to run your best when you advance to the State Track Meet, and Garrett Watts came as close to that as he could.
Watts ran the 110-meter high hurdles in 16.12 seconds on Friday morning, May 19. That was just one one-hundreth of a second off his previous best, set in the state qualifying meet.
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![](https://i0.wp.com/montezumamagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Garrett-getting-set.jpg?resize=678%2C457&ssl=1)
Watts’ effort placed his 22nd in the prelims at the Class 1A state meet. He needed to be in the top eight in order to make the finals.
It was a good weather day for the hurdlers. Eighteen of the 24 contestants set new personal records in the prelims.