Drake Relays highlights from Friday's high school track and field events
Mackenzie Carney almost skipped the Drake Relays this year.
Racked by an aching back which left her unable to walk after sustaining an injury in training in the offseason, Carney and Waukee Northwest girls track coach Ben Duea contemplated sitting her out.
But Carney, the defending Drake Relays champion in the girls 100-meter hurdles, was not about to sit in the stands and wonder what might have been.
Instead, Carney went out and successfully defended her title Friday morning at a rainy, windy Drake Stadium. Carney won in 14.43 seconds, holding off a hard charge from teammate Natalie Harris, who took second in 14.60.
For Carney, it was a case of no pain, no gain.
“In this race, I definitely had to block it out," she said of her back pain. "I got it worked on before I started warming up for finals. Today was really just about mental toughness. I couldn’t think about it at all. I just had to focus on execution.
"It’s a lower back injury. There’s a few things wrong with it. My hips are out of alignment, my rotators are out of line. I was just doing a workout and my back just gave out on me. I couldn’t walk for a while. I have been doing rehab three times a week and will continue to do so. It’s one of those things I’m going to have to get through this year and then next year at Iowa State.”
While Carney was busy putting her ailing back out of her mind, Spirit Lake senior Jack Latham, a fellow Iowa State track and field signee, was busy lighting up Drake Stadium.
Donning a pair of red-and-white striped 1980s-style shorts, Latham blazed the blue oval in 13.99 seconds to win the boys 110-meter hurdles. Latham not only made a track statement, he made a fashion statement at the same time.
More: Here are the 2022 Drake Relays high school track and field qualifiers
“I think they’re fancy. I don’t know what other people think about them, but I like them," Latham said of his shorts. “I like the comfort of them. They’re sleek. The team-issued ones we have now aren’t very comfortable. I just feel free in these and I feel like I can run my best in them.”
For Carney, there would be no wondering what might have been. Not this time.
“I just knew I didn’t want to sit in the stand and watch and wonder, ‘What could I have done?’ I wanted to go in there and see what I could do," she said. "I’ve gone through a lot of injuries throughout my career, with a broken collarbone. I had to mentally come back from that. I wiped out in hurdles my eighth-grade, freshman year. I’ve gone through a lot. Every challenge I look at as an opportunity to get stronger. God is giving me an opportunity to get stronger and get mentally tough.”
While Carney and Latham were busy splashing through the rain, North Polk senior Jack Noble and Cedar Falls junior Jacob Kieler were busy having their own version of HORSE in the boys high jump competition in the Fieldhouse.
Noble and Kieler were tied after clearing 6 feet, 9 inches with no misses. They went through eight rounds going back and forth between 6-9 and 6-10 before Noble cleared 6-9 and Kieler missed his final attempt, giving Noble the title.
More: 2022 Drake Relays: Live results and analysis from Friday's events at rainy, cold Blue Oval
More highlights from Friday at the 2022 Drake Relays
Iowa City High slipped into the weeds for a few years, but the Little Hawks are making a triumphant rise. They won the sprint medley relay in 3:28.70.
“We have a great team, a super deep team," anchor runner Ammon Smith said. "We’ve got great sprinters, great distance guys, great middle distance guys. We have so many good guys and good coaches. It’s all just coming together now.”
Other high school highlights from Friday's opening session include:
Sioux City West's Holly Duax won the girls 100 in 12.42.
Ankeny's Tyrese Miller won the boys 100 in 10.98.
Waukee Northwest won the girls 4x200 in 1:42.18.
Southeast Polk won the boys 4x200 in 1:28.43.
Carlisle's Ainsley Erzen won the girls 800 in 2:09.39.
Jackson Mace-Maynard of Newton won the boys 800 in 1:54.25.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Here are the Drake Relays high school event highlights Friday
