2022 Drake Relays: Results and analysis from the Friday's events at rainy, cold Blue Oval

Tommy Birch, Des Moines Register
·11 min read

It's wet.

It's rainy.

It's cold.

Of course, it's the Drake Relays.

The Drake Relays have been running all week, but it really picked steam Thursday, with the high school events and Distance Carnival.

Friday is a huge day at the Blue Oval where high school, college and pro runners will take the track for competition.

We'll have updates throughout the day. Fans also can watch action online (subscription required) or follow live results from Drake.

More: Inside Sam Spore's journey from Uganda to the Iowa wheelchair racing, track and field.

Field event results

Men’s pole vault: 1.) Matthew Pearce (Kentucky) 17-7; 2.) Reagan Ulrich (Central Missouri) 17-1; 3.) Tre Young (South Dakota) 17-1;

Women’s shot put: 1.) Axelina Johansson (Nebraksa) 56-11.5; 2. A’veun Moore-Jones (Southern Illinois) 55-3; 3.) Tess Keyzers (Minnesota) 53-1.

Kentucky sweeps the 4x200

The Kentucky men and women won the 4x200. The men finished with a time of 1:23.11. The women finished with a time of 1:32.98.

100 Paralympic results

Men: 1.) Noah Malone 10.69; 2.) Tanner Wright 11.44; 3.) Derek Loccident 11.86.

Women: 1.) Brittini Mason 12.31; 2.) Catarina Guimares 14.21; 3.) Delaney Nolain 17.34.

Drake's Isaac Basten wins the 1500

The Drake junior passed Texas Tech's Moah Zahafi in the final stretch to win the men's 1500. Basten finished with a time of 3:39.11. Drake's Adam Fogg finished fourth.

Kentucky wins the 4x800

The Kentucky women won the the 4x800 with a time of 8:25.25. That's a Drake Relays record and the fastest time in the world this seaosn.

Iowa State wins fourth-straight 4x800

The Iowa State men won their fourth-straight 4x800 title. Their time of 7:17.47 is the fastest time in the world this year. Michigan finished second by barely beating out Iowa which finished

Kentucky breaks 4x800 record

Kentucky won the women's 4x800 with a Drake Relays record time of 8:25.25. Oklahoma State finished second.

Northern Iowa finishes 1st and 3rd in the 200

Northern Iowa's Isaiah Trousil won the men's 200 with a time of 20.73. Indian Hills sophomore Aurel Tchanbi finished second while Trousil's teammate Parker Kiewiet took third. Trousil won four Drake Relays titles while competing for West Burlington.

"It's always great to be back at the Drake Relays," he told the crowd afterward.

Women's 200 results

  1. Deleccia McDuffie (North Carolina A&T)

  2. Amaira Young (Minnesota) 23.69

  3. Sara Reifenrath (South Dakota) 23.76

Sprint medley results

The men's and women's college sprint medley results are in. Gustavus Adlophus won the women's side with a time of 3:59.32. Minnesota State won the men's event with a mark of 3:22.75. The Iowa Central men finished third.

Olympic gold medalist Randolph Ross sets Drake Relays record

North Carolina A&T's Randolph Ross, an Olympic gold medalist, set a Drake Relays record in the men's 400 with a time of 44.95.

Tyrese Miller sets a record

The Ankeny senior, who finished second in the boys 400 last season, not only finished first this year but did it in a record pace. Miller tallied a time of 47.91, a Drake Relays record. Spirt Lake's Qai Hussey finished second. Mount Ayr's Ryce Reynolds took third.

Gabby Cortez takes down Ainsley Erzen

Cortez, a senior at Cedar Rapids Prairie, took down Erzen, the reigning champion in the girls 400. Erzen, who won the 800 earlier in the day, finished second. Cortez won with a time of 56.15. She barely edged out Erzen who finished in 56.18.

Iowa native Miracle Ailes wins women's high jump

Keokuk native Miracle Ailes won the women's high jump with a leap of 1.82. Ailes, a freshman for Iowa Western, has had plenty of success at Drake Stadium. She was a two-time Drake Relays champion in high school and a two-time state champion.

Northern Iowa alum Jessica Heims sets record

Jessica Heims set a Paralympic world record in the discus with a throw of 37.28. Heims was the lone competitor but wouldn't' have had any real competition with her big toss.

Iowa State's Emily March wins the discus

Iowa State junior Emily March won the women's discus throw with a toss of 57.88. The throw came on her sixth attempt. North Dakota State's Amanda Anderson finished second.

Tyrese Miller takes down the champ in the boys 100

There's a new champ in the boys 100. Ankeny's Tyrese Miller won with a time of 10.88. Last year's champ, Southeast Polk's Titus Christiansen, who was already a part of a relay title earlier in the day, finished fifth. Cedar Rapids Washington's Miles Thompson took second.

Holly Duax repeats in the 100

Sioux City West senior Holly Duax won her second-straight title in the girls 100. Duax tallied a time of 12.42. She beat out Claire Farrell of Norwalk who finished with a time of 12.58. Hoover's Jessica Kyne took third with a mark of 12.72.

"I stayed down and drove hard because of the wind," Duax told the crowd.

Dallas Wright finishes third in 400 hurdles

It was a strong showing by the the Wartburg runner who came out of the second heat and tallied a time of 50.88 in the men's 400 hurdles. Wright, a former star at Carlie, took third. Cory Poole of North Carolina A&T finished first.

"I try not to let the conditions get to me because everyone's running the same thing," Poole told the crowd. "I just try to get out and let the wind carry me."

Hawkeyes go 4-5-6 in 400 hurdles

Iowa runners Erin Dowd, Mariel Druxvoort and Payton Wensel all tallied top 10 finishes in the women's 400 hurdles with fourth, fifth and sixth place finishes. Kentucky's Masai Russell won with a time of 56.27.

400 hurdles results for men and women

Women - 1.) Rachel Hickey (Illinois State) 2:08.32; 2.) Bryanna Lucas (Kentucky) 2:08.81; 3.) Erin Reidy (Minnesota) 2:09.15.

Men - 1.) Ackeen Colley (Western Illinois) 1:48.57; 2.) Wes Ferguson (Nebraska-Kearney) 1:48.91; 3.) Jacob Rodin (North Dakota State); 1:49.06.

North Carolina A&T sets record in 4x100 prelims

The North Carolina A&T 4x100 set a Drake Relays record in with a time of 38.84. It broke a nearly 40 year old mark of 38.96 set by Alabama back in 1983.

Jackson Mace-Maynard picks up a win in the 800

The Newton senior, who finished fifth in the 3200, won in a time of 1:54.25. Saint Angsgar's Riley Witt wasn't far behind and finished second. Sioux City North's Gabe Nash finished third. Dowling Catholic's Jackson Heidesch was fourth.

Ainsley Erzen adds to her legacy

The Carlisle senior added to her prolific running history. Erzen won her second-straight title in the girls 800 with a time of 2:09.39. Van Meter's Clare Kelly finished second. Erzen also won last year's 400.

"It's always a lot of fun to run at Drake Stadium," Erzen told the crowd afterward. "There's a lot of amazing girls here."

Southeast Polk repeats in the 4x200

The Rams won their second-straight title in the 4x200. The team of Abu Sama, Titus Christiansen, Joe Zelenovich, and Cole Filloon finished with a time of 1:28.43. Johnston finished second. Cedar Rapids Washington took third.

Christiansen: "It's really special. Not everyone gets this opportunity to get on this track, let alone win it."

Waukee NW wins 4x200

Mackenzie Carney, who already has one title today, adds another. She ran the second leg of the winning 4x100 girls team for Waukee Northwest which tallied a time of 1:42.18. ADM finished second. Ames, last season's winner, took third.

Wyatt Willand wins the 400 wheelchair

The Northwood-Kensett senior won the 400 with a time of 56.91. It's the fourth fastest time in Drake Relays history in the event.

Iowa State takes the 4x1600

The Iowa State men won the 4x1600 for the first time since 1993. It's the 10th win in the event for the Cyclones who finished fourth in it last year. Iowa State's time of 16:23.05 was the fastest time by a team in the last five years. Oklahoma State took second.

Jack Noble finished off a fun jump off

North Polk senior Jack Noble won an intense showdown in the high jump with Cedar Falls junior Jacob Kieler. The two cleared 6-9 before Noble ended up winning the back and forth battle that lasted seven (!) jump offs.

Austin Busch wins the shot put

South Hamilton senior Austin Busch won the shot put with a toss of 60-5.75. Busch finished 12th last season but won it this season with a strong fifth throw. LeMars' Brandon VanderSluis finished second. Jesup's Carson Lieau took third.

Kennedy Axmear is the discus champ

Kennedy Axmear, a sophomore form English Valleys, won the shot put with a toss of 131-6 in her fourth a Dallas Center-Grimes sophomore Kileigh Lachacz finished second while Oskaloosa's Faith DeRonde took third.

Isabelle Noring wins the long jump

The Carlisle junior, who won the Class 3A state title in the event, now has a Drake Relays title. Noring won the event with a leap of 18-1.50, on her final attempt. Sioux City West's Holly Duax finished second. Bishop Garrigan's Molly Joyce took third.

Oklahoma State wins the 4x1600...again

Oklahoma State won its third-straight title in the 4x1600 with a time of 19:03.37.Utah took second while Illinois finished third. Iowa State finished sixth with a time of 19:47.98.

Jack Latham addresses the crowd on his decision to go to Iowa State following win

"I've always been a fan of the Cyclones and it just made sense to go there."

Mackenzie Carney addresses the crowd following second straight win

"Obviously today wasn't my best race but I think I executed well considering the conditions."

Jack Latham wins the 110 hurdles

The Spirt Lake star and Iowa State recruit is the only runner in the state to break 14 seconds in the event. Latham did it again Friday. He finished with a time of 13.99 and finished first 110 hurdles. Lisbon's Kole Becker, who was expected to be his toughest competition, finished second with a time of 14.60.

Mackenzie Carney repeats in the 100 hurdles

Waukee Northwest sprinter Mackenzie Carney won her second-straight title in the 100 hurdles with a time of 14.43. She held off teammate Natalie Harris who finished second. Northeast Goose Lake's Ellie Rickertsen finished third. Carney will also be gunning for another title in the 400 hurdles.

Augustana wins the women's 4x800 again

Augustana won the women's 4x800 relay for the third time in the last four years (2018 and 2019) with a time of 8:57.75.

Iowa City High wins the distance medley relay

A year after taking second in the boys distance medley relay, Iowa City High wins the event with a time of 3:28.70. Iowa City High was able to hold off Dallas Center. Grimes and anchor Aidan Ramsey, a Drake commit. The Mustangs finished second. Waukee Northwest, which ran in the second heat, took third.

Western Dubuque wins the 800 sprint medley relay

Western Dubuque's team of Ava Ramler, Sammy Recker, Brynn Walters and Audrey Biermann won the 800 sprint medley relay with a time of 1:46.01. The win is a little redemption for the school which finished second in last year's Drake Relays. It's the 14th fastest time in Drake Relays history. Cedar Rapids Prairie finished second.

Loras captures first men's 4x800 relay

The day is off and running and in a big way for Loras which captured its first men's 4x800 relay with a time of 7:28.21. Anchor Mike Jasa capped it off with a finish of 1:50.81. Grand View took second with a time of 7:33.57.

More Drake Relays coverage:

Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 2022 Drake Relays Friday results, analysis from Friday events