Koll a Drake Relay Champion

DES MOINES, Iowa- Cyclone standout Lisa Koll accomplished one of the few feats she has not yet attained in her illustrious career on Thursday, earning a Drake Relay championship for the first time. The Fort Dodge native raced to a 15:59.29 in the 5,000-meter run at Drake Stadium to win the event by over 40 seconds.

"I'm excited [to win at Drake]," Koll said. "I'm not completely happy with my performance, but I'm really happy to win Drake Relays to check that off the life goal list. Now I just have to keep getting better. I would love to make Beijing in the 10k, so that is kind of a goal at the end of this year.

Koll, a sophomore, dominated the competition, ran the fourth-fastest time in the nation coming into the weekend and became the first Cyclone to win the 5k at Drake since Peg Neppel in 1976. The Fort Dodge native can now call herself a Drake Relay champion after never winning an event in America's Athletic Classic in high school or as a collegiate freshman. Koll finished sixth in the Drake 5,000-meters last year.

“Lisa went out and started running pretty fast,” Iowa State head coach Corey Ihmels said. “She looked good at the 3,000-meter mark, and then I think the wind and everything else took its toll. Running a 15:59 on a day like today is a good stat and its for a Drake Relays title so that is exciting.”

Koll talked about her recent performances and sudden rise to prominence after an impressive sophomore year in track and field.

"It is surreal," Koll said. "Sometimes I wonder when I am going to wake up."

Along with Koll, Cyclone junior Grace Kemmey ran a strong 5,000-meter run, running 16:51.52 for fourth place. Both Iowa Staters regionally qualified in the event, finishing under the regional standard of 16:52.00.

“Grace did really well to end up where she did in fourth,” Ihmels said. “She just competed really well, it is exciting for those two girls to do so well.”

Fellow Cyclone Kiel Uhl also competed well in the men's 5,000-meter run. The Prole, Iowa native earned fifth place with a time of 14:17.56. Uhl already regionally qualified in the 5k last weekend in California, running 14:08.65.

“Kiel came back from last week's 5k and gave a good effort,” Ihmels said. “Now we need to get ready for conference in a few weeks.”

In the unseeded, 1,500-meter run ISU's Daniel Fadgen finished respectably with a runner-up placing to Drake's Leyden Tolhurst. Fadgen ran a career-best 3:52.37 in event. Early on, freshman Clayton Carper, in his first collegiate 10,000-meter run competed strongly. The Mason City native earned seventh in his Drake collegiate debut with a time of 31:31.13.

Events continue tomorrow in the 99^th-annual Drake Relays. Events will kick off for the Cyclones with the prelims for the women's 4x100-meter relay, scheduled for 9:32 a.m. CDT.

Cyclone Results

Women

5,000-meters- 1, Lisa Koll, Iowa State, 15:59.29, 4, Grace Kemmey, Iowa State, 16:51.52

Men

5,000-meters- 1, Japheth Ng'ojoy, UTEP, 14:06.99, 5, Kiel Uhl, Iowa State, 14:17.56

1,500-meters (unseeded)- 1, Leyden Tolhurst, Drake, 3:51.21, 2, Daniel Fadgen, Iowa State, 3:52.37

10,000-meter run- 1, Tyler Sigl, Wisconsin-Platteville, 30:18.42, 7, Clayton Carper, Iowa State, 31:31.13

Players Mentioned

Clayton Carper

Daniel Fadgen

Daniel Fadgen

Lisa Koll

Lisa Koll

Kiel Uhl

Kiel Uhl

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics