When Alberto Cortes of Lone Tree lines up for his first 800-meter race this spring, it’ll come after two years of waiting.

The pandemic of COVID-19 canceled the spring track season of 2020.

No matter. Cortes, a senior, has already nailed down his college choice; he signed a letter-of-intent last week with Wartburg College in Waverly. There, he’ll compete with both the Division III school’s track and cross country teams.

But first, this spring, Cortes will get reunited with a distance – 800 meters – he first came to appreciate in 2019.

“It was my sophomore year that I realized I was more of a middle-distance runner,” he said. “Running my first 800 as a sophomore was really the selling point for me on that distance. I love the thrill and challenge that the 800 gives me.”

Cortes expects to run in both the 800 and 400 for Lone Tree, in addition to competing on the Lions relay squads and perhaps even giving the 400 hurdles a try. He finished among the 70 in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference Cross Country Championships last fall.

At Wartburg, Cortes will join a track & field program that was ranked first nationally, both men and women, by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in January, and has a long history of NCAA Championship appearances. The Knights finished a school-best fifth place in the 2018 NCAA Div. III Cross Country Championships.

It took just one visit to the school in Waverly to convince Cortes.

“I knew as I arrived that my heart had found its match,” Cortes said. “The campus is absolutely gorgeous and the athletic facilities are top tier and are going through even more renovation.”

His coaches will include track & field head coach Marcus Newsom, assistant coach Seth Roberson and cross country head coach Ryan Chapman.

“I am looking forward to working with them because they will push me to be the best possible student-athlete,” Cortes said.

Cortes said he intends to study pre-physical therapy (neuroscience) with a minor emphasis on philosophy.

But first comes the 800 this spring.

“I saw some success in the 800 (in 2019), but I knew I wanted to be even better,” he said. “I had really hoped for last year because I was poised to make a push toward the state meet. This year my training has been geared to working on my explosiveness and endurance. I am really excited to get out on the track and leave my mark during my last year.”