Skip To Main Content

Drake University Athletics

Schedule

Events

Results

Composite Calendar
NC A&T
Luke Lu

Drake Relays Drake Athletic Communications

Two World Leading Times, A World Record And Five Drake Relays Records Set Friday

Outstanding performances across all divisions highlighted action Friday at Drake Stadium

DES MOINES, IOWA — World-leading times in both the men's and women's university 4x800m relays highlighted action on the second day of the 112th running of the Drake Relays, presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom.

Five Drake Relays records also were set Friday at Drake Stadium with Olympic gold medalist Randolph Ross of North Carolina A&T playing a role in two marks. 

The Friday session was also graced by a paralympic world record in the discus by Jessica Heims, an Iowa native and UNI graduate. The Cedar Rapids Prairie graduate threw 122-3 (37.23m) to break the previous F64 paralympic mark of 119-10 (36.53m) set by Poland's Faustyna Kotlowska in 2001.

The Kentucky women set a Drake Relays university 4x800m relay record with a world-leading time of 8:25.25. It marked the Wildcats' first ever Drake Relays crown, while ending a string of six-straight titles by Big 12 Conference schools. 

Ten minutes later, behind a 1:47.87 anchor from Jason Gomez, Iowa State won its fourth-straight men's university 4x800m relay in a world leading time of 7:17.47. The performance bettered the previous world leading time of 7:20.31 by South Plains Community College at the Texas Relays.

In the preliminary heats of the men's 4x100m relay, North Carolina A&T broke one of the longest standing Drake Relays records with Ross running the second leg. The Aggies finished in 38.84 in the preliminary heats to best the old record of 38.96 that had stood since 1983, by an Alabama team that featured Relays Hall of Famer Calvin Smith. 

Less than five hours later Ross, the reigning NCAA Indoor and Outdoor 400m champion, won the Drake Relays men's university-college 400m in convincing fashion with a season best 44.95 which ranks No. 10 on the 2022 world list and tied for No. 2 on the 2022 collegiate list. Ross recorded the fastest 400m time in the world in 2021 of 43.85 en route to winning the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

"Having a crowd to cheer you on was tremendous," said Ross of the more than 8,000 fans that streamed through the Drake Stadium gates Friday. "People here really love the sport and it makes it fun to come here." 

Tavarius Wright led off North Carolina A&T's 4x100m relay and was followed by Ross, Daniel Stokes and Javonte Harding, who was far ahead of the field when he crossed the finish line. That group ran a 38.61 earlier this spring, which is the second-fastest time in NCAA Division I. 

Fifty minutes after Kentucky ran its world best in the women's 4x800 relay, another Wildcats' foursome recorded the No. 5 time in the world – and No. 3 in the U.S. – in winning the women's university-college 4x200m. The Kentucky quartet ran 1:32.97 and they did it without collegiate record holder Abby Steiner on the team. Purdue finished second in 1:35.35 and Utah was third in 1:40.34. 

Kentucky and Purdue have combined to win the event five times in the last six Relays, with all of those teams coached by Lonnie Greene, who was inducted into the Drake Relays Coaches Hall of Fame on Thursday.
   
Kentucky and Purdue also finished 1-2 in the men's race, the Wildcats running 1:23.11 for their second title in three years and Purdue clocking 1:23.41.

Iowa State ended a long victory drought in the university-college men's 4x1600m relay. The Cyclones ran away from the competition to win in 16:23.38 – their 10th championship in the event but the first since 1993. 

Nehemia Too anchored for Iowa State's winning 4x1600 relay in 4:04.61, running unchallenged throughout his carry. Oklahoma State, which has won the event three times since 2015, was second in 16:31.78 and Missouri third in 16:40.21. 

"We haven't put together a great 4x1600 in some time," said Chad Johnson who ran a 4:01.98 on the second leg, which gave the Cyclones the lead for good. "We knew we had a lot of success in the 80s and 90s and we wanted to start bringing that back today."

Drake's Basten Wins 1,500m
Drake's Isaac Basten gave the host school a long-awaited victory in the men's university-college 1500m, beating a strong field with a time of 3:39.11. It's the first title for a Drake athlete in the event since Chris Mares won in 1981. Basten won the Missouri Valley Conference cross country championship last fall and finished fifth in the mile at the NCAA indoor meet this year. Teammate Adam Fogg finished fourth in 3:41.59, with Texas Tech's Moad Zahafi coming in second (3:39.51) and Michigan's Nick Foster getting third (3:40.29).

Oklahoma State continued its domination of the women's university-college 4x1600m relay, winning the event for the third straight year and fifth time in the last seven. Anchor Taylor Roe got the baton in second place but quickly moved to the lead, pulled away and was never seriously challenged in bringing the Cowgirls to the finish in 19:03.37, the fastest time since OSU set the meet record of 18:58.11 in 2015. Roe, the NCAA indoor 3,000m champion this year and a three-event winner at the Big 12 indoor, turned the final four laps in an easy 4:34.84. Utah was second in 19:11.87 and Illinois got third in 19:39.14.

Kentucky's Masai Russell treated fans to an impressive run in the women's university-college 400m hurdles, winning in 56.27, the No. 6 time in the collegiate ranks this spring. Russell, the NCAA indoor runner-up in the 60 hurdles this year, also has the No. 3 time this year at 55.41. 

North Carolina A&T's Cory Poole held off fast-closing Kenroy Williams of Kentucky for a victory in the men's university-college 400m hurdles. Poole finished in 50.27, just off the career-best 50.18 he ran last weekend. Williams came in at 50.57 and Wartburg's Dallas Wright, running in the second section, got third in 50.88, which ranks No. 8 all-time in NCAA Division III history.

Throwing 189-11 (57.88m), Emily Marsh became the first Iowa State athlete to win the women's university-college discus. Marsh's throw is just short of her career best – 191-2 (28.27m) – and is the second-best mark in the last 15 years of Drake Relays competition. 

Nebraska's Maddie Harris is still perfect in the javelin this spring. Harris, the defending Big Ten champion,  won for the fourth time in as many meets, throwing 165-0 (50.29m) to claim her first Relays title. Teammate Mirta Kulisic finished second at 159-7 (48.64m) to give the Cornhusker a sweep of the top two spots. 

Cami Streff's strong anchor carry sent Augustana, S.D., back to the victory stand in the college women's 4x800 relay. Streff, the Northern Sun Conference indoor 800 champion this year, held off Central Missouri's Jana Shawver throughout their final carry to bring the Vikings home in 8:57.75, their third victory in the event in the last four Relays. 

Mike Jasa's 1:50.81 anchor carried Loras to its first Relays victory in the college men's 4x800 relay. Jasa, fourth in the NCAA Division III indoor 800 this year, got the baton in the lead and easily held it as the Duhawks finished in 7:28.57. 

Marcus Weaver of Division III Wisconsin-Eau Claire came up big in the men's university-college discus, throwing 211-3 (64.38m) to outdistance the field. Weaver, the defending NCAA Division III champion in the javelin and decathlon, moved up to No. 4 nationally in Division III with that throw. 

Never count out a South Dakota athlete in the women's university-college pole vault. Freshman Marleen Mulla's victory at 14-0 (4.27m) marked the fifth straight Drake Relays and sixth in the last eight years that a South Dakota pole vaulter has won the women's event. 

Nebraska's best shot putter withdrew to compete in Saturday's invitational event, but the Cornhusker throwers still claimed the top two spots in the men's university-college competition.  Sophomore Maxwell Otterdahl won with a throw of 63-9 ½ (19.44m), while teammate Alexander Talley was second at 63-5 (19.33m). 

Nebraska's Burger Lambrechts Jr., winner of the last two Big Ten Conference indoor titles, will compete in Saturday's event, which will feature world record holder and two-time Olympic gold medalist Ryan Crouser.

Two High School Records Set in 400m
Ankeny's Tyrese Miller pulled off an impressive double, winning the boys 100m in the afternoon and coming back in the evening to break the Drake Relays record in the 400m. Miller, seeded 16th in the 100m race that featured the defending champion, won in 10.88 to edge Miles Thompson of Cedar Rapids Washington (10.95) and Jack Latham of Spirit Lake (10.99). Defending champ Titus Christiansen of Southeast Polk was fifth in 11.11. In the 400m, which was run for the third time at the Relays, Miller ran 47.91 in the 400m hurdles to break the record by three-hundredths of a second.

Gabby Cortez from Cedar Rapids Prairie set a Drake Relays record in the high school girls 400m in 56.16 beating Ainsley Erzen of Carlisle who had set the mark of 56.28 last year.

Earlier, Erzen ran away from the field to win the high school girls 800m for the second straight year, finishing in 2:09.39. She's also the defending Class 3A state champion and the state's all-time leader at 2:06.52. 

Sioux City West's Holly Duax made it two straight titles in the girls 100m. Running into a strong headwind, Duax outran rival Claire Farrell of Norwalk to win in 12.42. Farrell was second in 12.58.

Action resumes on the Blue Oval Saturday morning at 8 a.m. for the final day of the 112nd Drake Relays.

 
Print Friendly Version