DES MOINES, Iowa — World leading teams in the men's and women's 4x800 relays, coupled with a national collegiate tying mark in the men's high jump, highlighted the second day of the 114th running of the Drake Relays presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom on Friday.
 
Seven records were set on Friday pushing the two-day total to 12 entering Saturday's finale.
 
Kentucky posted the best time in the world this year in winning the women's university 4x800 relay for the second time in three years. Minutes later, Iowa State took the track and did the very same thing in the men's race. The Wildcats ran 8:27.94 to supplant TCU (8:31.94) as the women's world leader and fell just short of the Relays record of 8:25.25 the Wildcats set in 2022. Notre Dame's second-place time of 8:32.16 put the Irish at No. 3 on the world list. 
 
Iowa State had a close duel with Kentucky going until pulling away in the final carry to win the men's 4x800 in 7:22.53. Georgetown had the previous world best of 7:26.90. Indiana State ran 7:32.36 to edge Kentucky (7:32.98) for second. It was the Cyclones' fifth victory in the men's 4x800 relay in the last six Drake Relays.
 
Nebraska junior Tyus Wilson came up just short of a Relays record, but he still came away with a championship and a men's high jump mark that matched the nation's collegiate best held by Caleb Snowden of Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Wilson, the 2024 Big Ten Conference indoor champ, cleared a personal best 7-5 (2.26m) to capture the Relays flag in the championship division event.


Wilson missed three attempts at 7-6 (2.29), which would have broken the Relays record of 7-5 3/4 (2.27m) set by Alabama's Thomas McCants in 1985.
 
After a sizzling performance in the women's university/college 4x1600 relay, no college team has ever been faster than Notre Dame. Twins Andrea and Olivia Markezich ran the final two legs to send the Irish to a Drake Relays victory in 18:44.15 – a Relays and national collegiate record. Andrea built a 100-meter lead over Iowa State heading into the final leg and Olivia, the defending NCAA champion in the steeplechase, kept pulling away from there. The previous Relays and national best was 18:58.11 by Oklahoma State in 2015. Iowa State was second in 19:06.26.
 
Minnesota's Shelby Frank unleashed an impressive throw to win the championship division in the women's university-college discus. Frank hit 191-5 (58.34m) on her first attempt – the best mark at the Relays since Nebraska's Becky Breisch set the meet record of 205-5 (62.61m) in 2004. Frank, a two-time runner-up in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships, is sixth on the national collegiate list this spring with a throw of 198-0 (60.35m).
 
Drake was within 60 meters of its first relay victory at the Drake Relays in more than half-a-century when Gonzaga's Wil Smith dashed those hopes. Smith passed Drake sophomore anchor Aidan Simon as they charged down the straightaway to give the Zags the Relays championship in the men's 4x1600 relay. Gonzaga finished in 16:50.67, a few ticks ahead of Drake's clocking of 16:50.87. Indiana State was third in 16:52.09.  
 
Drake's last relay victory at the Drake Relays came in the four-mile relay in 1968. This is the first time Gonzaga has competed at the Drake Relays. The Zags' head coach, Pat Tyson, roomed with the late Steve Prefontaine during their college days at Oregon.
 
Olivet Nazarene's Hannah Antkoviak lowered her NAIA all-time record and beat the defending champion in winning the women's university/college 400 hurdles. Antkoviak circled the Blue Oval in 56.20 to end Joy Pulse's bid to repeat. Pulse, a senior at South Dakota, was close behind in 56.54. Antkoviak had the previous NAIA best of 56.71, which she ran last May 26.
 
Jaden Damiano bettered himself in winning the boys 110 hurdles. The senior from Iowa Falls-Alden set a Drake Relays record when he won his preliminary heat in 13.98, then ran even faster in the finals, winning the title in 13.84. That moves him from fourth to third on the state's all-time list. Damiano, who will continue his running career at South Dakota, becomes the second athlete from his school to capture a Drake Relays flag, following Joey Brunkhorst in the 1997 high jump. Quinton Alexander of Cedar Rapids Prairie was second in 14.23.
 
Long-striding Jackson Johannes of Cedar Rapids Prairie charged out of the turn in lane one to set a Drake Relays record in winning the boys 400. The lanky senior, who had only the seventh-best time coming in, beat a strong group to the finish in posting a record 47.67 clocking. Carlisle's Braedin Zonderman, the state leader this spring, was second in 47.72 and Ankeny's Jackson Belding finished third in 47.83. Defending champion Ryce Reynolds of Mount Ayr was sixth in 48.43. Johannes' time puts him in a tie for No. 9 on the state's all-time list.
 
The Relays record also fell in the girls 400 race, Waukee's Anjelena Carder winning in 55.45. Long jump champion Reese Brownlee of Clear Lake was second in 55.93, while defending champion Jaidyn Sellers slipped to seventh in 57.37.
 
Hampton-Dumont junior Charlee Morton earned a piece of Drake Relays history with her repeat victory in the girls discus. Coupled with her second straight win in the shot put on Thursday, Morton became the third thrower in the Relays girls division to sweep those two events twice. She was stuck in fifth place in the discus before coming up with her winning throw of 141-2 on her next-to-last attempt. Pleasant Valley's Reese Goodlet was second in 140-9. The others with two double-doubles are Jamie Kofron of Tipton in 2018 and '19 and Abby Emsick of Lewis Central in 2000 and 2001.

Hanson King of Pella completed a sweep of the boys throwing events with his victory in the shot put. King threw 58-7 to claim the Relays title after winning the discus on Thursday. Linn-Mar's Sam Watts finished second at 58-1/2 and Pella Christian's Trevor Veenstra, the shot put runner-up, was third at 57-2.
 
Friday's final handful of events were eventually postponed due to severe weather in the Des Moines area. The WACT Invitational women's steeplechase, Championship women's long jump, Ambulatory 200m, and a portion of the men's collegiate 4x200 relay were moved to Saturday. The high school boys and girls 4x400 relays will now be the final high school events of the 2024 Drake Relays. The 4x400s will be redrawn with heats and lanes based on entry times.
 
Drake Relays Saturday will begin 10 minutes earlier than previously scheduled with the high school girls shuttle hurdle at 8 a.m. A fully updated Saturday slate will be finalized and published tonight.
 
Spectators who purchased Friday night session tickets may receive one complimentary ticket to Saturday's session for each Friday night ticket presented at the Drake Stadium southwest ticket windows or Knapp Center ticket office.