DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake Relays presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom kicked off its 2025 season with the annual celebration of Relays Night hosted by Drake men's basketball. Wednesday night's festivities included an introduction of the Relays staff, celebrated the victors of the 2024 Relays Wellness Challenge, and announced commitments of two elite level athletes and a premier collegiate team.
 
The featured commitments include familiar faces Ryan Crouser and Shelby Houlihan, as well as the team from Kansas State University.
 
Crouser, a three-time Olympic champion and the current world record holder in the outdoor shot put (23.56m/77' 3.75"), will be returning to Drake Stadium in April. He boasts 11 U.S. championships, two world titles, four NCAA crowns while competing for the University of Texas, and six Drake Relays titles over his career. Crouser has eight of the top 10 furthest outdoor throws ever and nine of the top 10 furthers indoor throws of all time. Crouser's return to Des Moines will serve as another chance to awe track and field fans as well as a chance to eclipse his own Drake Stadium and Drake Relays records.
 
Sioux City native Shelby Houlihan will be returning to competition on a recognizable surface. She won eight Drake Relays titles and eight Iowa High School State Meet championships on the Blue Oval as a prep star at Sioux City East. Houlihan competed collegiately at Arizona State University where she won the 2014 NCAA 1500m crown and was a 10-time First Team All-American. Her professional career has also been decorated with a 2014 NACAC 800m title, finals appearances in the 5k at the 2016 Olympics and 2017 World Championships, a fourth-place finish in the 1500m at the 2019 World Outdoor Championships with an American record pace of 3:54.99. She toppled another American record in 2020 with a 5k run of 14:26.32 and was a member of a world record-beating 4x1500m relay squad.
 
The 115th running of the Drake Relays will be the first outdoor competition of the year for Crouser. Houlihan, who is competing in the indoor season this year, is set to compete as part of the annual Grand Blue Mile events on Tuesday, Apr. 22 as well as chase down the Drake Stadium women's 1-mile record of 4:40.20 (Francie Larrieu, USA, 4/26/1975) on the Blue Oval. Crouser's participation details will be announced in the coming weeks.
 
The Kansas State University track and field team features several Iowans on its coaching staff. Head coach Travis Geopfert prepped at Panorama High School in Panora before competing at UNI. As a Panther, Geopfert was a three-time Missouri Valley Conference champion, a 2000 NCAA Indoor All-American, and two-time Drake Relays decathlon champion. He later qualified for five USATF Indoor and Outdoor Championships and the 2004 Olympic Trials as a professional decathlete. As a coach, Geopfert was named USTFCCCA National Assistant Coach of the Year four times, USTFCCCA Regional Men's Indoor or Outdoor Assistant Coach of the Year 10 times, and 2009 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year.
 
Geopfert's staff includes Kip Janvrin, another Panorama High School alumnus who won 17 Drake Relays decathlon events. Janvrin was a three-time NCAA Division III decathlon champion at Simpson College in Indianola. He was inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame in 1996 and was a member of the 2009 Drake Relays All-Century Team.
 
Other Wildcat assistants include former UNI assistant coach Trey Brokaw, 2024 Olympic Long Jump Gold Medalist Tara Davis-Woodhall, and sprints coach Mat Clark, an Ames High School graduate who competed at UNI and was a two-time Drake Relays decathlon champion before competing at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials. This talented group of instructors have helped train multiple NCAA All-Americans and Big 12 Conference contenders.
 
The Drake Relays presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom announced its team of Barb Cox Endowed Relays Internship on Wednesday night. The intern staff consists of Joseph Lawry, Anna Paul, Nick Joseph, Myrissa Carrillo, Emilie Meyer, and Connor Visnic.
 
Relays Night also provided halftime entertainment. Students from a dozen area elementary schools competing in three heats of a shuttle race on Ron Pearson Court. Phillips Elementary produced two winning teams while Monroe Elementary had one first-place group. For more information about elementary and middle school participation in the 2025 Drake Relays presented by Xtream, please go here. 
 
The Bulldog men provided an appropriate exclamation point to the evening with an 81-71 win over Valpo. It was Drake's fifth straight victory as they improved to 17-2 overall and 7-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play.
 
Drake Relays All-Session tickets are now for sale and can be purchased here: godrakebulldogs.com/tickets. Registration for the 57th annual Drake Road Races is now open here. Registration for the Grand Blue Mile will open on Feb. 11.