Mile posts: Items on Isaac Basten, Erik Sowinski, Loras 4x800 relay, Wesley Kiptoo, Emma Huston, Mason Frank, Gable Sieperda, Aubrie Fisher

Iowans and Iowa collegians provided fans attending the Drake Relays with one standout performance after another during the 112th annual event on the Blue Oval. There were so many excellent performances that it was difficult to choose which athlete to choose to lead off this edition of the WEEKEND UPDATE of the best performances by Iowa-based collegiate and postcollegiate distance runners and triathletes.

It was a tough call, but Drake University's own Isaac Basten provides an excellent start. Basten, who was fifth at NCAA indoors in the mile, produced a memory of a lifetime by winning a white Relays winner's flag after taking the title of the men's university-college 1,500 meters on Friday night. The junior held off a strong field that included Texas Tech senior Moah Zahafi, Michigan junior Nick Foster and his own teammate, senior Adam Fogg, to claim the title in 3 minutes, 39.11 seconds. Basten becomes the first Bulldog to claim the Drake 1,500 since Chris Mares in 1981. Basten owns the 19th-best time in NCAA Division I, and thus is a good bet to make NCAA West Prelims in Fayetteville, Ark., later this month. Basten also was an All-American in the 1,500 outdoors at NCAA nationals in Eugene, Ore., last June. Fogg ended up fourth in 3:41.5 in the 10-person race.

The University of Iowa men's team captured its first Drake Relays Cup, formerly called the Hy-Vee Cup, since 2018. The Hawkeyes secured the title with a victory in the sprint medley relay, runner-up finishes in the 4x100 and 4x400 and a third in the 4x800 relay.

Anchoring the Hawkeyes to the win in the sprint medley was Alec Still. The former Woodbury Central athlete came up with a 1:49.6 anchor leg on the 800 meters to finish off the win. Iowa's time of 3:18.06 was fifth fastest in program history.

"Growing up, this is the meet you dream of running at – especially for the Hawkeyes," Still said in a press release from the Iowa athletics department. "I've been dreaming of running for the Hawks since I was in fifth grade. To cross the finish line in my last race ever at Drake (as a champion) is a great feeling, and to share it with these guys too."

Iowa State, with Darius Kipyego running the 800 anchor, was a distant second in 3:20.39.

While not winning the Drake Relays Cup, the Cyclones picked up two Relays championships in the men's 4x1600-meter relay and the 4x800. Iowa State's victory in the first event Friday ended a long winless drought at Drake - 29 years. It was transfer Ryan Ford who led off in 4:10.36, followed by Chad Johnson in 4:01.98 and Ezekiel Rop in 4:06.11 with Nehemia Too anchoring in a 4:04.61 effort en route to a time of 16:23.05. The Cyclones easily topped runner-up and rival Oklahoma State by over eight seconds.

Iowa State became the first team at Drake to win four consecutive 4x800 university titles since Kansas took five in a row from 1958-62. Despite a revised lineup without Frank Hayes and Alex Lomong, the Cyclones still withstood challenges from runner-up Michigan (7:18.78) and Iowa (7:19.13) to win in 7:17.47, which is the second-best time in school history.

Peter Smith ran a 1:50.77 leadoff leg for the Cyclones, followed by a 1:50.65 by Cebastian Gentile. Darius Kipyego and Jason Gomez closed fast with legs of 1:48.20 and 1:47.87. That time was best in the nation for a day, until Ole Miss ran a 7:13.71 effort at the Penn Relays on Saturday.

Iowa's time of 7:19.13 in the relay is second best in school history. Spencer Gudgel led off in 1:51.65, with Armando Bryson taking the baton and running 1:49.82. Antonio Abrego clocked a 1:49.44 followed by Still's superb effort of 1:47.64.

A former Hawkeye All-American, Erik Sowinski, made a bit of history of his own by running the 800 meters under 1:50 for the 200th time in his long, storied career. The Iowa City resident and former world indoor bronze medalist took runner-up honors in the men's 800 invitational in 1:49.38. Sowinski was topped only by Nike's Isaiah Jewett in 1:48.84.

Such a special weekend at the @DrakeRelays!" Sowinski wrote on Twitter. "Came up just short of the win, but running my 200th career 800m under 1:50 in front of that crowd is something I'll never forget. Thank you all for the kind words and support as always. Excited for the rest of the year ahead!"

Hayes, running for a Cyclone coach Jeremy Sudbury-named Suds Squad, was fifth in 1:50.02. Lomong, also on the Suds Squad, was eighth in 1:53.91.

The Loras College men's 4x800 relay set a new NCAA Division III record early Friday with a 7:28.23 effort that eclipsed the 7:33:28 time of Amherst College set in 2014. The Duhawks' quartet included former Dubuque Wahlert prep Carter Oberfoell, Ryan Harvey, Huston native Wyatt Kelly and Mike Jasa, who is a former Cedar Rapids Prairie prep. Jasa ran the fastest leg of 1:50.81. The Duhawks became a champion at the Relays for the first time since the sprint medley relay took a white flag in 1989.

The Dordt University men set both a Drake Relays and school record in taking the college distance medley crown Saturday. The Defenders, with an all-Iowa squad, ran 10:07.48 to easily top Luther College by more than 20 seconds. Trey Engen, from Algona, gave Dordt the lead for good during the 1,200 leg. Cole Zevenbergen, a sophomore from Rock Valley, ran the 400 before handing off to Payton Mauldin for the 800. Mauldin, a former Central Lyon/GLR prep and sophomore, then handed off to former CL/GLR teammate Joe Anderson for the 1,600 leg. Mauldin and Anderson are both from George.

Stepping over to road racing for a bit, where former Iowa State 5,000 indoor national champion Wesley Kiptoo of HOKA captured a victory in the Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon on Sunday. In just his second race as a professional, Kiptoo ran 1:01:25 to capture the half marathon title by :02 over James Ngandu, with American Jared Ward third in 1:03:37. Former Runablaze athlete Ryan Root was 13th overall in 1:07:33.

Also Sunday, former Des Moines Roosevelt and Drake star Emma Huston shattered the course record at the Lincoln Marathon on Sunday. Huston, battling a still headwind for the final 10 kilometers to the finish, ran a personal-best 2:38:17 to break the mark of 2:42:45 set by longtime Omaha standout Roxi Erickson from 1996.

It was a personal-best time for Huston, her first time running in Lincoln and her first marathon victory by 4:32 over Isgah Cheruto of Kenya.

"It meant a lot," Huston told the Lincoln Journal Star. "I really didn't know what to expect going in, so I'm pretty happy."

The win was Huston's first in a marathon and came after she reached the halfway point in 1:15.

"I think going out really hard the first half really helped me," said Huston, who earned $2,000 for the win as well as a bonus for the course record. "That wind the second half was pretty brutal."

An Iowa native also was victorious in the men's marathon. Former ADM of Adel prep Mason Frank ran the fastest time in Lincoln since 1985 after covering the 26.2-milke distance in 2:19:29. Frank, 32, wanted the course record of 2:16:30, but settled for an improvement on his third-place finish in Lincoln from two years ago and a win over Luke Kibet by 3:12.

Frank, 32, was coming off a victory in the Napa Marathon eight weeks ago when he qualified for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials by running under 2:18.

"I had the fitness from Napa, it was a matter of not getting injured and now maintaining," Frank said in a Journal Star interview.

Boone native Pete Kostelnick, best known for setting the record for the fastest crossing of the United States by foot (42 days, 6 hours, 30 minutes) in September and October of 2016, stepped down in distance to run the marathon for a change. Listed as living in Phoenix, Kostelnick, 34, set a new personal best for the distance by finishing third in 2:36:41.

Kostelnick, a two-time Badwater 135 Ultramarathon champion, improved on his 2:41:06 personal best from Lincoln in 2015.

"Since then, I honestly think I was too scared to get my ass kicked," Kostelnick wrote on Instagram. "I couldn’t have scripted it any better."

In the half marathon, Runablaze Iowa's Tyler Lance of Algona finished sixth overall in 1:11:15. The winning time was Dominic Korir's 1:03:53.

Moving back to the Drake Relays and highlights of each day:

Thursday's Distance Carnival

Iowa State's Gable Sieperda was the top collegian in the men's 3,000 steeplechase, with the former CL/GLR prep finishing behind only fourth-place 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials finisher Daniel Michalski's 8:28.93. Sieperda stayed clear of a college field that included Drake's Aziz JDai and teammate Kelvin Bungei to finish second in 8:45.31. That time is the fastest by a collegian at Drake since Iowa State Hall of Fame runner Dmitry Drozdov ran a winning 8:39.66 effort in 1994. Sieperda has a comfortable position to qualify for the NCAA West Prelims.

JDai, a freshman, finished fifth in 8:50.34. Bungei, a sophomore and former Iowa Central runner, was ninth in 8:56.62. His former Triton teammate, West Texas A&M's Noah Bundrock, was 15th in 9:05.91.

Wartburg College's Aubrie Fisher took on all of the Division I and Division II runners and topped all of them but one in the women's 3,000 steeplechase. The sophomore and former AGWSR (Ackley) prep ran 10:21.64 to finish just less than seven seconds behind winner Lona Latema of Kansas. Drake sophomore Brooke Mullins finished fifth in 10:27.19. Iowa State's Kiki Connell, a freshman from Charles City, moved into eighth in school history by finishing 11th in a huge new personal best of 10:39.31. Rebekah Topham, a former Most Valuable Performer in the American Athletic Conference meet for Wichita State, was 13th in 10:41.24. Topham, from Griswold, was running unattached. Former Valley High athlete Helen Gould, a junior at South Dakota, was 18th in 10:45.09. Iowa junior Brooke McKee, a former Johnston High prep, was 20th in 10:45.84.

The women's seeded 5,000 became a three-way duel between Winona State's Lindsay Cunningham, Iowa Western star freshman Hilda Chebet and Loras' four-time NCAA champion Kassie Parker. Cunningham topped both Iowa collegians with a 16:05.36 effort. But Chebet, a three-time NJCAA champion indoors this season, finished a strong second in 16:07.40. Parker, a former Clayton Ridge of Guttenberg prep who owns the NCAA Division III record for this race, was third in a new school record of 16:09.66. Parker eclipsed her previous best for this distance by nearly 30 seconds. Parker owns the second-best time in this event nationally and has the 10,000 national record. Iowa State junior Grace Dickel was 18th in 16:58.33.

Caroline Cunningham grabbed her third school record this outdoor season when the Northwest Missouri State junior ran 16:54.94 to take runner-up honors in the unseeded 5,000. The former Cedar Falls prep topped the former Bearcats record of 16:55.80 by Angela Adams set in May 2010. Cunningham also owns school records in the 1,500 (4:29.71) and 3,000 steeplechase (10:29.75). That steeplechase time appears good enough to qualify for nationals.

Iowa sophomore Kelli Tosic finished ninth in 17:04.5 and Iowa Western's Mercy Biwott 23rd in 17:25.11 in a race won by Northwestern freshman Ava Earl in 16:49.71.

Former Garner-Hayfield-Ventura prep Reece Smith, like Cunningham, set a Northwest school record when he won the unseeded 5,000 meters in 13:57.62. Smith, a sophomore, was the lone runner to break 14 minutes and won in a breeze by nearly 10 seconds. Smith's time would have been good for fifth place in the seeded 5,000. Wartburg's Christopher Collet finished fifth in 14:12.16. Merga Gemeda, a former Sioux City North prep now running for South Dakota, was 14th in a new personal-best 14:24.04. Gemeda now owns the fifth-best time in Coyotes history. Iowa senior Noah Healy was 19th in 14:31.92.

In the seeded 5,000, Iowa standout freshman Max Murphy finished 13th in 14:19.71. Murphy is a former Pleasant Valley prep. Iowa Western freshman Nicholas Kiprotich was 15th in 14:26.99. The winning time was Jeremy Coughler of Bandits Elite in 13:46.57.

Jasa, the Loras runner, started his weekend by placing second in the unseeded 800 meters in 1:50.41. He was topped only by Nate Sloan, running unattached, in 1:49.47. Mauldin finished fourth in 1:50.95. Iowa Central freshman Yared Kidane captured sixth in 1:51.62. Drake Hanson, a sophomore at Northern Iowa and a former Southeast Polk standout, also cracked the top 10 in eighth place in 1:52.09.

In the unseeded women's 800, former Indianola prep Bailey Blake finished 11th in 2:12.06. Blake, a nationals qualifier in the 800 a year ago, is a sophomore at Northwest Missouri State. Also finishing 13th was Indian Hills sophomore Aliyah Simmons, a national indoor champion in the 800 meters, in 2:12.5.

A strong unseeded 1,500 meters ended with Drake freshman Emilie Meyer placing 17th overall in 4:32.41. Two spots back was Iowa junior Emma Gordon, a former Ankeny Centennial prep. Gordon ran 4:34.09. The winning time was 4:23.31 by North Dakota State senior Kelby Anderson.

The top finishers in the men's and women's 10,000 meters were Wartburg runners. Senior Joe Freiburger was fifth in the men's race in 30:26.17. Freiburger is a former Western Dubuque prep. In the women's 10,000, Wartburg freshman Shaelyn Hostager was sixth in 35:53.55. Hostager ran for Dubuque Hempstead.

Friday

In that men's 4x800 won by Loras, Grand View University came through with a solid runner-up finish in 7:33.57, a time that ranks best in NAIA. Like Dordt, this relay was an all-Iowa unit. In leadoff was senior Talon Munger from Oskaloosa, senior. He was followed by senior Ben Huftalin, a former Osage prep. Carter Huyser, a junior from Oskaloosa, was third on the relay followed by anchor Isaiah Wittrock, a former Pekin prep from Richland. Dordt's Jebadiah Merkle, Engen, Zevenbergen and Peyton Miller finished fourth in 7:37.10. That time is fourth best in NAIA. Merkle is a senior while Miller is a senior from Wellman. Indian Hills was next in fifth place in 7:39.32, with a group that included Jerry Harper, Roneldo Rock, Rivaldo Marshall and Nick O'Connor. O'Connor is a former Clear Creek Amana prep.

Iowa finished sixth in the university women's 4x800 Friday night in 8:35.75, which is the second-best time in school history. Freshman Katie Moore opened with a 2:11.29 leg, followed by Ottumwa freshmen twin sisters Alli and Grace Bookin-Nosbisch. Alli ran a 2:06.89 leg while Grace clocked a 2:10.62 effort. The anchor, Clare Pitcher, finished off the run with a 2:06.96. Iowa State, which included former Glenwood prep Janette Schraft running a 2:11.94 opening leg, was seventh in 8:54.76. Former Dowling Catholic standout Kelsey Schweizer ran a 2:11.83 leadoff leg for Missouri, which finished eighth. Schweizer's leg was the fastest on the team despite starting from a standstill position.

Former North Union (Bancroft) prep Riley Bauer earned fourth place in the men's college 800 in 1:49.36. Bauer is a sophomore at South Dakota State. The winner was Western Illinois' Ackeen Colley in 1:48.57.

Bauer's teammate, former Des Moines Christian prep Oksana Johnson, finished fifth in the women's college 800 in 2:09.29. Johnson is a senior with the Jacks. The winner was Illinois State's Rachel Hickey in 2:08.32.

Former Sioux City Heelan prep Amber Aesoph finished 10th in the women's 1,500 meters in 4:25.5. Aesoph is a sophomore at Iowa. Illinois sophomore Olivia Howell won in 4:15.50.

In the mixed 800 masters event, Ean Caskey of Lisbon captured the victory in 1:59.54, winning by nearly four seconds. Caskey last fall set a new Iowa road racing record for men 40-49 for 5,000 meters when he ran the Blazing 5K in 15:36.

Saturday

Former Iowa All-American Mallory King outsprinted a big pack to finish second in the women's 800 invitational. Though well behind winner Allie Wilson (2:03.87) of the Atlanta Track Club, the former Davenport Assumption prep and Iowa Elite TC athlete ran a strong 2:08.00 in windy conditions.

"Competed hard in some tough conditions for a second place finish in an impressive field," King wrote on Instagram.

Another former Iowa prep, Josh Yeager of the Minnesota Distance Elite team, finished sixth in the men's invitational 1,500. Yeager, a former Center Point-Urbana and Drake runner, was timed in 3:47.08. Former Iowa State star and two-time Olympian in the 3,000 steeplechase Hillary Bor of the HOKA team was ninth in 3:48.87.

Another runner from Iowa tumbled to the track during women's 1,500 invitational. Current Northern Iowa assistant and former Panther great Alexina (Wilson) Teubel fell less than 100 meters into the race. The former Mount Vernon/Lisbon prep rallied to finish seventh out of 10 competitors in 4:25.63.

The Loras distance medley relay of Kelly, Ted Kruse, Jasa and Harvey eclipsed a 51-year-old school while taking second that race in 9:54.45. The Duhawks were less than a second behind Division II Augustana's 9:53.62 time. Wartburg, with Frosty Lorimer, Wyatt Schmidt, Dalton Martin and Collet running, picked up a third-place finish in 10:01.79. hat time is No. 2 in school history. Lorimor is a senior from Springville and Schmidt is a former Northeast of Preston athlete.

The Iowa quartet of sophomore Kal Lewis and freshmen Everett Steward, Abrego and Murphy recorded the fifth-fastest time in the distance medley relay while finishing third overall in the university division in 9:47.73. Iowa State's title hopes took a big hit when Gomez fell after taking the exchange from second runner Charlie Johnson. Chad Johnson helped bring the Cyclones back to eighth place in 9:50.90. Charlie Johnson is a junior and former Dowling Catholic runner. The leadoff runner was Nehemia Too. Drake, which included Fogg, freshman Caleb Lerus, junior Pur Biel and Basten on the roster, was next in ninth in 9:51.61. Biel is a former Iowa Central runner.

Wartburg produced a solid third-place effort in the college women's distance medley early Saturday morning. The group that included freshman and former Iowa Falls-Alden prep Ellie Meyer, Jackie Ganshirt, Carson McSorley and Fisher ran 12:02.82, which ranks in the top 10 in school history. Ganshirt is a senior and former Dubuque Wahlert prep and McSorley is a junior from New London.

NOTE: This blog will be updated.

MISSING A TOP DISTANCE RUNNER OR TRIATHLETE?: Let me know at bergeson@registermedia.com.

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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Mile posts: Items on Isaac Basten, Erik Sowinski, Loras 4x800 relay, Wesley Kiptoo, Emma Huston, Mason Frank, Gable Sieperda, Aubrie Fisher