Des Moines, Iowa – Drake junior Brogan Austin (Boone, Iowa) out sprinted the field of the men's college/university 5,000 meters to claim the first Drake victory at the Relays since 1995 to cap events Thursday at Drake Stadium.
“Words can't explain it,” Austin said. “It was awesome. I've been trying to do it for several years now, I've gotten second place three times and I finally got the win this year. It's just a relief, it feels good.”
A crowd of 7,129 spectators followed in and out of the bleachers at Drake Stadium under clear skies and high 50's to low 60's throughout the day that saw one Drake Relays record fall and the first Drake win in 18 years.
2013 Drake Relays Results | Quotes | Notes | Tickets | Friday Schedule
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Austin's time of 14:12.50, a personal best, cemented his title as the first Drake runner to win the event, and the first Bulldog to win at the Relays since Gina DeWitt, who won the 800 meters in 1995. Prior to that, Shaun Benefield was the last Drake male to win, also claiming the 800 meter title in 1993.
“I wanted to do it for Drake. I had a lot of people come out and support me tonight. Before the race I was just dying of nerves, a lot of people were very supportive throughout the week, saying 'hey good luck' and 'let's do it for Drake'. That's what I wanted, to come out and show Drake that we could do it, that Drake as a track team could do it.”
After being caught in the pack early, Austin was patient and picked up the pace of the race with 400 meters to go. His kick surged him to a victory, barely outlasting North Central's John Crain who was .30 seconds behind.
Thursday's action kicked off with the men's decathlon. Northern Iowa senior Daniel Gooris won the event for the second straight year, finishing with 7,395 points. It's the seventh time in the last 10 years that a Northern Iowa athlete or an athlete connected to UNI has won the event. Gooris emerged as the champion after Jake Arnold, who held a 317-point lead through nine events, failed to finish the 1,500. He still finished second with 6,955 points. Arnold set the Drake Stadium record of 8,215 points in winning the decathlon at the USA Championships in 2010. Gooris' score is No. 10 in the U.S. this year.
Former Des Moines Christian athlete Lindsay Lettow captured her first Drake Relays title, compiling 5,470 points to win the heptathlon. Lettow was a two-time NCAA Division II champion in the heptathlon and a two-time champ in the pentathlon at Central Missouri, where she was coached by 15-time Drake Relays decathlon champion and 2000 Olympian Kip Janvrin. She placed in the top four in every event except the javelin. Mary Nall of Mississippi was second with 5,324 points, 12 ahead of Northern Iowa's Paige Knodle. Former Nebraska athlete Chantae McMillan, third at the U.S. Olympic Trials last summer and 29th in the London Olympics, competed in five of the seven events, skipping the shot put and 200. Drake senior Briana Isom-Brummer (St. Louis, Mo.) was sixth in the event amassing 5,087 points.
A majority of Thursday's action came in the high school arena where freshman Kiana Phelps of Kingsley-Pierson/Woodbury Central set the first record of the 2013 Drake Relays. Phelps won the high school girls discus with a throw of 153-04, which bettered the old record of 151-1 by Iowa City West's Taylor Freeman in 2007. Phelps' father, Scott, won the high school boys discus at the 1986 Drake Relays and is still the Class 1A state meet record holder. Kiana came within one inch of failing to make the finals, then fouled on her first two throws of the final round before setting the record on her final attempt.
A pair of Des Moines area athletes repeated their titles from 2012 in field events. Jalyn Roberts-Lewis of Des Moines Roosevelt repeated her title in the high school girls long jump. Roberts-Lewis went 18-10.25, which ranks 13th on the state's all-time list. Her jump was the fourth best winning performance at the Drake Relays, which first held a long jump for high school girls in 1992.
Urbandale senior Shaquille Wells also repeated his title as the champion in the high school boys shot put, throwing 59-7.50, more than four feet further than his winning throw last year. Wells is the only Urbandale athlete who has won the event at Drake.
Iowa State ended a four-year championship run by Big Ten schools in winning the women's university-college 4x1600 relay. With senior Ejiro Okoro anchoring in 4:43.4, the Cyclones finished in 19:16.69. Iowa won last year's race, while Minnesota won in 2009, 2010 and 2011. It's the first Drake Relays victory for Iowa State in the event and the Cyclones easily outran Minnesota, which took second in 19:23.25. Maggie Gannon, Dani Stack and Crystal Nelson ran the first three legs for the Cyclones.
Notre Dame won the men's university-college 4x1600 relay for the sixth time in the last 12 years and the seventh time overall. The Irish got a solid 4:04.1 anchor from Jeremy Rae to win in 16:42.89. Notre Dame's last Drake Relays victory in the event came in 2008, when the Irish won it for the third straight time. D.J. Thornton led off for Notre Dame and was followed by Michael Clevenger, J.P. Malette and Rae, who was coming off a fourth-place finish in the 1500 at the Mt. SAC Relays. Minnesota was second and Iowa State third. Rae anchored Notre to second-place finishes in the 4x1600 at Drake in 2010 and 2011.
Sophomore Anna Lamb from Miami of Ohio is now 2-for-2 in the 10,000 meters as a collegian. Lamb looked strong throughout in winning the women's invitational 10,000 in 34:35.39, making her the first athlete from her school to win that race at the Drake Relays. Lamb ran her first 10,000 on April 5, when she won the event at the Miami Invitational. She improved her time by close to 30 seconds in tonight's race. Lamb beat runner-up Brittni Hutton of Oakland by 21 seconds.
UTEP's Risper Kimaiyo outdueled Eastern Michigan's Victoria Voronko on the final lap to win the women's invitational 5000 for the second time. After Kiamiyo led from the start, Voronko pulled even late in the race but had no answer for the Kenyan's kick in the final 300 meters. Kimaiyo, the Conference USA indoor 5000 champion in 2012, finished in 16:18-flat -- four seconds faster than Voronko. Kimaiyo also won the Drake Relays 5000 in 2010.
Indiana State's John Mascari ran away from the field to win the men's invitational 10,000 in 29:19.74. It's the second straight big victory for Mascari, who won the 10,000 at the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, Tennessee, on April 11. This is the first track season for Mascari, who was redshirted last spring. Mascari beat runner-up Robert Scribner by almost 19 seconds. Mascari's time was a PR and the fastest in the Drake Relays 5000 since Iowa State's Yobes Ondieki ran 28:48.71 in 1985.
Freshman Stephanie Jenks of Linn-Mar recorded the third-best mark on the state's all-time list in winning the high school girls 3000 in 9:46.02. Jenks, the Class 4A cross country champion last fall, passed Pleasant Valley freshman McKenzie Yanek with 250 meters to go and easily held on in the stretch. Yanek's time of 9:50.87 ranks ninth all-time. Jenks had been sixth on the all-time list with a previous best of 9:49.24. Defending champion Rebekah Topham, a sophomore from Griswold, was ill and did not run.
Sophomore Thomas Pollard of Gilbert held off a late charge by Linn-Mar's Josh Evans to win the high school boys 3200 in 9:10.97, which ranks No. 11 all-time. Pollard, the son of Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard, passed Evans heading into the final turn and was strong enough in the stretch to stay in front of the fast-closing Evans. Evans' time of 9:11.49 ranks 12th all-time.
Friday looks to be another clear and beautiful day for the 104th running of the Drake Relays with temperatures in the low 60's, little wind and clear skies. Events will begin at 8 a.m. with the girl's 100-meter hurdles prelims.
