DES MOINES, Iowa – Drew Thompson and former winner Shaina Burns are the leaders after the first day of the multi-events at Drake Stadium on Wednesday, signaling the start of competition in the 116th running of the Drake Relays, America's Athletic Classic.
Thompson, a former Colorado State athlete, won four of the five opening day events in the decathlon to accumulate 4,161 points for a solid 180-point lead in the competition.
Burns, the Drake Relays heptathlon champion in 2023 and runner-up in 2019, claimed first-place finishes in two of the four events in totaling 3,546 points. That gives her a lead of 102 points going into the final three events on Thursday.
Two rivals from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference hold the next two spots in the decathlon. Jonny Cheney, a junior at the University of Sioux Falls, is second with 3,981 points. Kenny Moxey Jr., a sophomore at the University of Mary, is third with 3,934.
Thompson, the 2023 Mountain West Conference decathlon champion, was dominant on the opening day at the Blue Oval. He won the 100 in 10.67 seconds, went 23-11 3/4 (7.31m) to win the long jump, threw 47-3 3/4 (14.42m) to win the shot put and won the final event of the day, the 400, in a personal-best 48.09 seconds.
Cheney was the other event winner, clearing 6-9 1/2 (2.07m) in the high jump. That's his career best and his performance Wednesday puts him in great position to improve on last year's 10th-place finish at the Drake Relays.
Moxey, third at the NSIC indoor heptathlon this year, finished second in the 100 and third in the high jump and 400.
Anneke Moersdorf, who holds Oregon State's school record, is second in the heptathlon with 3,444 points and Northern Iowa junior Joey Perry, the defending Missouri Valley Conference champion, is third with 3,429.
Burns started fast by winning the first event of the competition, the 100 hurdles, in 13.74 seconds to amass 1,015 points right off the bat. The former Texas A&M Aggie also won the shot put with a throw of 49-9 3/4 (15.18m), a personal best, finished fourth in the 200 and fifth in the high jump.
Perry, also the MVC indoor pentathlon champion this year, won the high jump with a 5-6 1/2 (1.72m) clearance and finished first in the 200 in 23.80 seconds. Moersdorf, third in the Pac-12 heptathlon in 2024, stayed in contention with her consistency, finishing second in the 100 hurdles, high jump and 200 and fourth in shot put.
The decathlon resumes at 10 a.m. Thursday with the 110 hurdles, which will be followed by the discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500. The heptathlon concludes with the long jump, javelin and 800. That competition resumes at 11 a.m.
