DES MOINES, Iowa - A sellout crowd of 14,504 fans filled Drake Stadium on Saturday to watch five world-leading marks set during the final day of the 106th running of the Drake Relays presented by Hy-Vee.
A trio of the world-leading marks set were among the five Drake Relays records broken, headlined by Jasmin Stowers win in the Beijing World Championship Preview women's 100 hurdles. Running out of lane seven, Stowers, the USA indoor 60 hurdles champion this year, won the race in 12.40, the fastest time in the world this year and fifth-fastest all-time in U.S. history.
Defending world and USA outdoor champion Francena McCorory won the Beijing World Championship Preview women's 400 and broke a 28-year-old Drake Relays record en route to her first Drake Relays title. McCorory outran Sanya Richards-Ross and Novlene Williams-Mills to win in 50.13, erasing the Drake record of 50.64 set in 1987 by Lillie Leatherwood-King, a Drake Relays Hall of Famer and one of the Relays' Athletes of the Century. Richards-Ross, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist, was second in 51.09 and Williams-Mills, ranked No. 1 in the world last year, took third in 51.11.
In the men's invitational shuttle hurdle relay, “Team Blue” that included world record holder Aries Merritt and defending world outdoor champion David Oliver flashed to a Relays record in the invitational men's shuttle hurdle relay. The quartet put together a time of 52.94 to erase the old record of 53.77 set by a team that included Merritt at last year's Relays. Jason Richardson led off for the winning team and was followed by Aleec Harris, who ran the world's leading time in winning the Beijing WC Preview 110 hurdles Friday night, Merritt and Oliver.
Will Claye, last year's USA champion, soared to the top of this year's world list in the triple jump. Claye, the Olympic silver medalist in 2012, went 55 feet, 7 inches. The previous world best was 55-2 by Brazil's Jean Rosa.
The final world-leading mark was set in the invitational mile, reigning USA 1500 champion Leo Manzano ran the fastest time in the world this year in winning the invitational mile. Manzano, a four-time NCAA champion at Texas, surged past US indoor mile champion Matthew Centrowitz to win in 4:00.05. Centrowitz, who won the Grand Blue Mile on Tuesday, was second in 4:00.54.
In the Beijing World Championship Preview women's 400 hurdles, Cassandra Tate surged toward the end the race to defeat Georganne Moline with a time of 55.68, the No. 3 time in the world this year.
Two Drake Relays collegiate records fell on Saturday, both set by Arkansas athletes. Omar McLeod celebrated his 21st birthday by breaking the Relays record in the university-college 110 hurdles. McLeod, the NCAA indoor 60 hurdles champ this year, won in 13.21 to erase the old record of 13.48 set by Terence Somerville of Cincinnati in 2011. McLeod's time ranks No. 3 in the world.
Arkansas broke its own Drake Relays record in winning the university women's sprint medley relay and now has the top two times in the world in the event this year. With Chrishuna Williams on the anchor, Arkansas won in 3:43.64 to break the record of 3:45.48 it set in 2012. The win, paired with a runaway win in the women's 4x400 relay, clinched the Hy-Vee Cup for the Razorbacks.
The Illinois men took home the Hy-Vee Cup for a third-straight season after picking up wins in the sprint medley relay and the 4x400 relay. In addition to the Fighting Illini's two relay wins, they also won the men's steeplechase and the men's 400 hurdles. Illinois has now won 74 relay titles and 143 overall titles, both Drake Relays best marks.
Illinois began the day racing to a time of 3:18.85 in the sprint medley relay, which ranks ninth on the collegiate list this year. Thirty minutes later, Dylan Lafond won the men's steeplechase in 8:56.64 to claim the Fighting Illini's 68th individual title and 141st title overall. Those figures grew to 69 and 142 when Cam Viney won the 400 hurdles during the afternoon sessions. Viney helped Illinois clinch the Hy-Vee Cup in the 4x400 meter relay, as the Fighting Illini won in 3:06.23.
Oklahoma State claimed five of the six distance relays at the Drake Relays, as the Cowgirls became only the fourth school to win all three of the women's distance relays. Natalja Pilisuina, an eight-time Big 12 champion and 2013 NCAA champion in the 1500 meters, anchored all three of the Cowgirls' relays teams. OSU won the 4x1600 on Thursday with a Drake Relays record of 18:58.11 before claiming the 4x800 title Friday, crossing the line in 8:27.88.
The Cowboys won the men's 4x1600 relay on Thursday in a photo finish against in-state rival Tulsa, before claiming the distance medley relay crown on Saturday. Both relay teams were anchored by Kirubel Erassa, a four-time Big 12 champion.
On the girls high school front, Cedar Rapids Jefferson, which set a Drake Relays record on Friday in the 4x200 relay, tied a meet mark in the 4x100, winning the event in 47.55.
Linn-Mar's Stephanie Jenks has done it again, winning the high school girls 1500 in 4:31.09 to become the second girl to win the distance triple (800-1500-3000) in the same year at the Drake Relays. It's also the eighth Relays title for Jenks, tying her with Dowling Catholic's Katie Flood and Sioux City East's Shelby Houlihan for the all-time lead among high school girls. Jenks is the only one of the three with eight individual championships. Houlihan was the first to accomplish the distance triple at Drake, winning those events in 2011.
Dowling Catholic's Ryan Schweizer became the first in Drake Relays history to win both the high school boys 800 and 1600 meters in a single meet, as he won Saturday's 1600 meters in 4:18.18. Schweizer won the boys 800 on Friday in 1:52.15, a meet record, and also helped the Maroons set a Drake Relays record of 3:26.58 in the sprint medley relay on Friday.
In addition to winning three Drake Relays flags, Schweizer, a junior, was runner-up in the 3200 meters on Thursday in 9:15.01.
In all, 14 Drake Relays records were broken during the four-day meet, while two Drake Relays high school marks were tied. In the invitational events 10 world-leading marks were set, including six in the sprints and hurdles.
The 2016 Drake Relays presented by Hy-Vee will take place April 27-May 1 at historic Drake Stadium.
