(Photo/Iowa State Athletics)
DES MOINES, Ia. — It’s a career that was never supposed to take off for Ty Koehnk, who didn’t run track and field until his junior season of high school.
“I was already planning on going to Iowa State in the fall for school, but Kurtis was the only other school I had outside of Simpson acknowledge me.”
Kurtis is Iowa State associate men’s track and field coach Kurtis Brondyke, who offered Koehnk after an elite performance at the 2024 Class 2A State Track and Field Meet, which saw Koehnk win the 400 meter dash in a time of 48.39 seconds, as well as leading a 4×200 championship in 1:28.02, and a 4×400 championship in 3:16.35, which is still the fastest non-4A 4×400 in state history.
“Kurtis [Brondyke] followed me on Instagram and I thought ‘well we have a chance here’, and I followed him back and filled out a recruiting questionnaire,” Koehnk said. “We had a good call that Sunday after state and 3 weeks later said ‘I have a spot’; it truly was a ‘life changes overnight’ situation.”
Since his arrival at Iowa State, Koehnk has done nothing but grow and exceed the expectations, leading the Cyclones in the 400-meter dash with a season-best 47.13 second performance at the Drake Relays, which was good for 4th in the University Division. Koehnk also holds the top 200-meter time in the outdoor season with a 21.42 run at the Jim Duncan Invite, all after having the top indoor 400-meter dash time for Iowa State in 47.60, ran at their NCAA qualifier in Arkansas.
But what has set Koehnk apart in his journey as a top-tier track athlete? His mindset.
“The big thing is to just be confident,” Koehnk said. “I might not have the experience of those other guys, but at the end of the day, I’m performing at a level where I might be the only one who thinks I can perform at that level. You have to find a chip on your shoulder, but not one so that makes you arrogant, but one more so to not overthink things and go out there and take it.”
The birth of Koehnk’s confidence did not come without trial, error and sometime failure, as he says that his first year of track at the collegiate level was a big learning experience.
“This year, compared to last year, has been a big step forward in terms of the learning curve,” Koehnk said. “Last year was basically having to learn track and field from the ground up with blocks, positioning, workouts and everything. This year we have a foundation, so its more of ‘let’s go out there and just work’, and coming out of the gates way hotter.”
Koehnk’s improvements have been noticeable from his freshman campaign, running his top 400 time of 47.43 at the Cyclone Twilight in mid-May, while breaking that mark at 47.13 at this week’s Drake Relays. The 200-meter dash has an even more impressive jump, as Koehnk’s top time in 2025 was at 21.85, as that mark was broken at the early-April Jim Duncan Relays in his aforementioned 21.42 time.
This weekend’s Drake Relays has been a busy one for Koehnk, who led off Iowa State’s 4×100 that qualified for the finals in a time of 41.09 seconds, as well as placing 4th in the aforementioned 400 meter dash. Still to come is tomorrow afternoon’s 4×400, which Koehnk will lead off for the Cyclones.
But what’s in store for the former South Hamilton standout? He says to elevate his performances to the next challenges in front of him.
“As humbly as I can say this, I think we’re the best runner that we have in terms of 400’s, not for any arrogant reasons other than I have to believe in myself,” Koehnk said. “You can’t get complacent, like today, it was a great PR, but I’m still not satisfied with anything. I’m just going to put my head down and put myself in position to be a key contributor at conference in scoring and hopefully go to regionals, and maybe even nationals in the coming years.”
Iowa State’s 4×400 featuring Koehnk is scheduled to run at 3:50 PM on Saturday afternoon and will be televised on CBS Sports Network.