DES MOINES – Concordia-St. Paul athletes swept the multi-events on Thursday to get things rolling in the 112^th Drake Relays presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom.
 
Senior Jakob Tordsen took the lead in the seventh event, the discus, and held it the rest of the way in winning the decathlon with a career-high 7,145 points over the two days of competition. That's a hefty 1,037 points higher than his previous best. Sophomore Arika Robinson, who grew up in Iowa, won the heptathlon with 5,029 points, also a career best.
 
Robinson finished her competition in the early afternoon. Tordsen celebrated his victory a couple of hours later.
 
"It's awesome," Tordsen said. "I think both of us should qualify for nationals with that, so to go down there and do that together will be really fun."
 
Tordsen's total puts him at No. 5 on the NCAA Division II list nationally. His only first-place finish Thursday came in the javelin with a career-best 190-7, but he finished fourth or higher in the four other events, notching PRs in the pole vault (14-9) and 110 hurdles (15.35).
 
"It hasn't really sunk in how much I improved," Tordsen said. "I had a thousand-point PR this week which is kind of unheard of. Just to put one together makes it really special."
 
Former Marquette athlete William Eggers finished second with 7,011 points and Ryan Enerson, who finished seventh at the 2019 Relays while competing for North Dakota State, took third with 7,010 points.
 
Eggers won the discus with a career-best 136-6, while Enerson capped the competition with a first-place finish in the 1500 (4:42.79). The other event winners were freshman Drew Bartels of Northern Iowa in the 110 hurdles (14.75) and junior Mayson DeRousse of Missouri Baptist in the pole vault (14-9).
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Robinson, the Division II indoor high jump champion this year, won three of the four events in Wednesday's  opening round and added a first-place finish in the long jump on Thursday, going 18-4 ¼. She followed that up with a fifth-place finish in the javelin, then took second in the final event of the competition, the 800 meters.
 
Her total put her sixth nationally in Division II, which will hold its outdoor championships May 26-28 at Allendale, Mich.
 
"I grew up I Iowa and lived in Ankeny for 10 years and I watched the Drake Relays growing up," Robinson said. "To be able to compete and to win is such an incredible experience."
 
Emily Swanson of Sioux Falls University won the 800 in 2:22.82 and finished second overall with 4,759 points, also a career best. Javelin winner Samantha Sunnarborg of Minnesota State was third with a career-best 4,486 points.
 
Robinson ran a career best 26.20 in the 200 on Wednesday and finished the meet with a PR in the 800 (2:28.80).
 
"Not a lot of personal records," she said, "but near them so that is always a good thing."