DES MOINES, Iowa – Tradition met innovation as the historic Drake Fieldhouse served as a perfect venue for the second year of the World Shot Put Series (WSPS) during Drake Relays Week 2026. An electric crowd urged on the field of elite shot putters and their collegiate challengers, with Roger Steen throwing his way to a second consecutive WSPS title belt.
Invented last year by 3-time Olympic gold medalist and world record holder Ryan Crouser, the World Shot Put Series as a fresh new take on one of the oldest disciplines in track and field. The WSPS mimics other field events like high jump and pole vault as each round consists of participants attempting to reach a pre-determined mark. Missed throws result in elimination as those who continually surpass the line advance in competition.
Wednesday's field consisted of the following elite participants:
Josh Awotunde, 2026 US Indoor Championships third place finisher
Rajindra Campbell, 2024 Olympic bronze medalist
Nik Curtiss, former University of Iowa All-American
Chukwueba Enekwechi, 2-time Olympic finalist
Roger Steen, defending WSPS and WACT men's shot put champion
These six collegiate standouts from Iowa college and universities made up the "Challenger" division:
Cooper Cerese, Drake
Carson Lienau, Northern Iowa
Carolyn Miller, Grand View
David Souvongsavath, Simpson College
Texas Tanner, Air Force
Wisdom Williams, Iowa
Miller, Souvongsavath, and Williams all cleared 40 feet to get the night started, but two of those three did not last much longer as the rest of the Challenger pool joined in. Grand View's Carolyn Miller and Simpson's David Souvongsavath bowed out when the line backed up to 50 feet.
Wisdom Williams, the highest finishing woman in the field, surpassed 50 but could not hit 60 as she was eliminated alongside Drake's Cooper Cerese and UNI's Carson Lienau.
Texas Tanner of the Air Force Academy was the final challenger alive. Tanner cleared 60 feet and had two great heaves at the next line, but 63 feet was just too far. The 63-foot stripe also proved to be Nik Curtiss' undoing as the former Hawkeye was the first elite athlete eliminated.
The final four contenders, all veterans of the Drake Relays' indoor competitions, put on a show the rest of the way. Josh Ayotunde and Chuk Enekwechi gave their best effort, but could not climb up to 69 feet, leaving only Jamaican national record holder Rajindra Campbell and defending champion Roger Steen in the circle.
Both finalists passed up to 71 feet and utilized the special money ball to reach the 72-foot threshold.
Steen then uncorked a towering toss up and over the 73-foot distance. Campbell had two chances to match the reigning champion but could not do so, giving Steen the WSPS belt for a second straight year.
"It was fun," Steen said. "The strategy [of this different format] came into play a bit. I usually don't like to play that game, but it worked out here tonight. The historic factor of the Drake Relays brings out another level of energy and demands the competition to step up."
The entire professional portion of the WSPS lineup, plus a few other world-class shot putters, will be back in action this Saturday for the World Athletics Continental Tour elite men's shot put set for 2:30 p.m. inside Drake Stadium.
