DES MOINES, Iowa - The Drake Relays presented by Hy-Vee has announced its three-member 2018 Hall of Fame Class to be inducted to the Drake Relays Hall of Fame during the 109th installment of the Drake Relays presented by Hy-Vee.
 
Drake Relays champions Derek Miles and Dmitry Drozdov will join the Drake Relays Athletes Hall of Fame while Dave Gottsleben has been selected for induction in the Drake Relays Coaches Hall of Fame.
 
"These three represent the best of what the Drake Relays presented by Hy-Vee aspires to be in recognizing outstanding athletic achievement," said Blake Boldon, the Franklin P. Johnson Director of the Drake Relays. "Derek, Dmitry and Dave have won or been a part of nearly 20 Drake Relays titles and continue to exemplify the excellence that is synonymous with the Drake Relays."
 
Derek Miles, an Olympic bronze medalist, was a three-time Drake Relays champion in the invitational pole vault, winning the event in 2002, 2008 and 2009 by clearing the 18-foot mark all three times. He also won the pole vault event at Jordan Creek Town Center in 2008 and 2011. His legacy at the Drake Relays began as a collegian with South Dakota in 1994 and has continued ever since.
 
Outside of Drake Stadium. Miles was a two-time USA Champion (2008, 2011) and two-time runner-up (2003, 2010). Miles competed in three Olympic games, representing the United States in 2004, 2008 and 2012. In 2008, he finished fourth at the Beijing Olympics but was later awarded the bronze medal as the original medalist tested positive for a banned substance.
 
Miles was the USA's top-ranked pole vaulter in 2003, 2005 and 2009 and the No. 2 vaulter in the world in 2005 and 2009.
 
Miles, who was a five-time All-American at South Dakota, has been an assistant coach at his alma mater the past 14 years and has built the Coyotes' into one of the premier pole vault programs in the nation with his student-athletes winning two national titles and 16 All-America honors.
 
Joining Miles in the Drake Relays Athletes Hall of Fame is the only four-time champion in the university/college division steeplechase, Dmitry Drozdov. Competing for Iowa State, Drozdov made his historic run of four-straight titles from 1993-96. In 1994, he won the event in 8:39.44, the fastest time in the event at the Drake Relays in the last three decades. He also competed on a pair of 4x1,600-meter relay teams that finished third in the 1994 and 1995 Drake Relays.
 
Drozdov had equally impressive finishes off the Blue Oval including an NCAA title in the steeplechase in 1996 after a runner-up finish in 1995. He was an eight-time All-American for the Cyclones and won a total of five individual Big 8 titles and an NCAA team title in cross country in 1994. He was named ISU's Male Athlete of the Year in 1996 and helped the Cyclones to a total of six conference titles as a student-athlete. A native of Russia, Drozdov finished third in the steeplechase at the 2000 Russian Championships.
 
A Drake Relays staple and icon in collegiate track and field, Dave Gottsleben joins the Drake Relays Coaches Hall of Fame following 33 incomparable years as the head coach at the University of South Dakota. Gottsleben took the reins of the Coyote program in 1985 and over the next 33 years had student-athletes win a total of 10 Drake Relays titles.
 
Gottsleben built the USD program into a Division II national power and did not miss a step when the program transitioned to Division I. His teams won the Summit League indoor titles three-straight years from 2013-15 and an outdoor title in 2014. He earned multiple Summit League Coach of the Year honors along the way. His teams won a total of 20 conference titles during his 33 years and his men's teams earned a total of 125 All-America honors and seven NCAA titles.
 
His teams also earned a total of eight top-10 teams finishes at the NCAA Division II National Championship during his career and he was elected to the NCAA Division II Hall of Fame in 2005.
 
The trio will be formally inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame during a ceremony and luncheon Thursday, April 26, and introduced to the Drake Stadium crowd at various points during the 109th Drake Relays presented by Hy-Vee, April 25-28.