Newton's Mace-Maynard breaks through on blue oval

May 2—DES MOINES — When Jackson Mace-Maynard left the interview room Thursday night, the final words out of his mouth were "I'm so sick of losing. I'm tired of it."

So with 100 meters left in the 800-meter run at the Drake Relays on Friday, Mace-Maynard decided to put his fate in his own hands.

This time, the Newton senior would not be denied and his narrow win in a loaded field resulted in his first Drake Relays championship.

"With 100 to go a few others were coming up on me so I decided to just slam it," Mace-Maynard said. "I didn't even know Riley was there until the end."

Riley Witt is a runner from Saint Ansgar who Mace-Maynard trains with at XLR8 Performance Lab in Ankeny. They have become close friends throughout the last few years and the duo went 1-2 in the 800.

Mace-Maynard won the race in a school-record time of 1 minute, 54.25 seconds. Witt's runner-up time was clocked in 1:54.38 and Sioux City North's Gabe Nash was third in 1:54.69.

"Riley Witt is one of my closest training partners. I train with him a lot. It's so cool to go 1-2 in that race," Mace-Maynard said.

The 800 came in the middle of a busy three days for Mace-Maynard. He started his Drake Relays with a fifth-place finish in the 3,200 and ended it with a silver-medal performance in the 1,600.

Mace-Maynard is believed to be the first Drake Relays champion since Jason McCleary won the high hurdles championship in 1990.

Dallas Center-Grimes' Aidan Ramsey won both the 1,600 and 3,200. He also trains with Mace-Maynard at XLR8. And Ramsey rallied past Mace-Maynard in the final few meters in the 1,600 on Saturday.

With about 250 left, the top guys took off on their final kicks. Mace-Maynard moved to the front and created a little bit of separation, but with 80 meters to go, the rest of the front pack made one last effort to sprint to victory.

Ramsey won the 1,600 in 4:15.96. Mace-Maynard was second in a school-record 4:16.27 and Ford Washburn of Iowa City High ended up third in 4:17.9.

"Coming down the last 80 meters, I thought for a split second if I slam it like I did yesterday, I think I can win it," Mace-Maynard said. "I didn't even see Aidan. If I am going to get beat by anyone, it is going to be him. He's the runner here I respect the most.

"We've had some battles. He's great. You have to give him that."

Mace-Maynard wasn't good enough in the 3,200 on Thursday, but was proud of how he finished his weekend on Saturday during the 1,600. He ran his race and just came up a little short.

"I went at about 250. I do wish I would have waited until maybe 100 left," Mace-Maynard said about his final kick. "I might have went a little too early but at the same time, you can't look back and wonder. I went for it and came up a little short. I'm still proud of the weekend."

His weekend started with one of the most loaded 3,200 fields in Drake Relays history. It was so good that Mace-Maynard's school-record time of 9:06.16 would have won the race in 2021, 2019 and 2018.

The field basically re-wrote the top 10 for best all-time performances in the event. Ramsey won the race in a new Drake Relays record of 8:58.27. Washburn was second in 8:59.6.

"It was disappointing for sure. 9:06 is pretty big and I'm happy with the PR," Mace-Maynard said. "I'm happy for Aidan. He deserves that. But I'm just disappointed to get another fifth-place finish.

"I have two more races to redeem myself and the 3,200 isn't my best race anyway. I knew it would be the hardest one to win. I gave it a helluva shot and am proud of the way I ran. Plain and simple, I just wasn't as good. Aidan is really good at that race."

Mace-Maynard is really good at the 800. He proved that on the biggest stage on Friday. But it didn't come without a little drama.

Sioux City North's Nash tried to pass Mace-Maynard on the turn with about 200 meters to go. The Cardinal senior denied the pass, created some separation after and finished it off with an impressive kick at the end.

"It's cool for him to try to make a pass, but I will never just give up the inside," Mace-Maynard said. "I'm going to get big and physical. I didn't even know who it was. I just gave him a little push and didn't give up the inside lane."

Mace-Maynard's strategy and game plan in the 800 was to get out fast and stay out front. He didn't want to get boxed in for a race that features one heat for all 16 runners.

The plan was made even more challenging when officials moved Mace-Maynard from the first waterfall start line to the second just before the race started.

"I told Riley (Witt) I was going to lead start to finish. For some reason, the Drake Relays puts 16 guys on the start line for the 800," Mace-Maynard said. "That's too many. They need to do two heats of the 800. I just knew if I got caught up in the back and got boxed in, there was no way I could win the thing. If I have to blast the first 100 really hard, then that's what I have to do."

Notes: Mace-Maynard, Witt and Ramsey are joined at XLR8 Performance Lab by Carlisle's Ainsley Erzen, Des Moines Christian's Carson Houg and Linn-Mar's Hayden Kuhn. Erzen won the girls' 800 and 1,600 this weekend. Houg and Kuhn went 4-7 in the 1,600, 7-13 in the 800 and 9-4 in the 3,200, respectively. Ben Tillis is the groups' coach at XLR8. ... Mace-Maynard went from choosing not to run the 800 at last year's state meet because he thought it was his worst event to now feeling like it could be his best this season. His long-term goal for the sport is the 2028 Olympics. "The Drake Relays 800 will not be the pinnacle of my career," Mace-Maynard said. "I'm going to the Air Force and long term I'm thinking 2024 Olympic Trials and 2028 Olympics at home. I think I can be there. This is just a building block to what I hope is still to come."