ISU Begins Drake Relays on Wednesday

AMES, Iowa – One of the biggest weekends of the track and field season is here, as Iowa State will begin competition at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, starting on Wednesday and going through Saturday.

Iowa State will be represented by Zach Kraft in the decathlon on Wednesday, starting at 11:30 a.m., and Thursday at 10 a.m. Action will commence on the track on Thursday evening with the Distance Carnival. The Cyclones will then be back on Friday and Saturday, with events at the Blue Oval starting at 8 a.m. both days.

Running events, starting with the Distance Carnival on Thursday, will be streamed on USATF.TV, here. Live results will be provided by Prime Time Timing, here.

For Iowa State, the focus is on relays and the team competition in the Relays Cup. On the men's side, Iowa State are the two-time defending champions of the Cup, led by ISU's continued dominance of the 4x800-meter relay. The Cyclones have won the 4x800 each of the past three Drake Relays', with last season's race featuring a dominant school-record 7:12.57. While three of the four legs will be new this year (only Jason Gomez returns), there is still plenty of talent on hand, with Cebastian Gentil, Darius Kipyego and Peter Smith all having gone under 1:50 for 800m this season.

ISU's depth in the men's mid-distance events (which includes seven sub-1:51 800m runners and three sub-3:43s at 1,500m) will be tested across the weekend. In addition to the 4x800, Iowa State are the defending Drake Relays champions in the sprint medley relay and distance medley relay, both of which will be run Saturday afternoon.

The Cyclones nearly made it a Relays Cup sweep last season, with the women finishing tied for first with North Dakota State in the standings, but losing out on the cup due to a tiebreaker. The ISU women's efforts last season were highlighted by a second-place effort in the sprint medley relay.

Highlights among the individual events include a strong field in the men's steeplechase on Thursday night. Gable Sieperda (8:43.45) and Kelvin Bungei (8:51.71) both had strong season debuts two weeks ago, while Nate Mueller is slated to make his ISU steeple debut. For the women, hurdles stars Katarina Vlahovic (100m hurdles) and Kaylyn Hall (400m hurdles) will both take to the track on Friday. Iowa State's throwers will also be in action across Friday and Saturday, coming off another set of strong performances in Iowa City last weekend.

Kip Janvrin Open
Iowa State will be sending six student-athletes for competition at the Kip Janvrin Open at Simpson College on Friday. Events will begin in Indianola at 10 a.m. Live results will be provided by Black Squirrel Timing Company, here.

Iowa State Drake Relays Schedule
Wednesday
11:30 AM – Decathlon, Zach Kraft

Thursday
10 AM – Decathlon, Zach Kraft
5 PM – 800m, Maggie Davis
5:08 PM – 800m, Tanner Anderson, Chase McPherson
5:16 PM – 1,500m, Taylor Briggs, Sarah Murrow
5:28 PM – 1,500m, Joe Schaefer, David Thompson
6:23 PM – 3,000m Steeplechase, Kiki Connell
6:47 PM – 3,000m Steeplechase, Kelvin Bungei, Noah Kohut-Jackson, Nate Mueller, Gable Sieperda
7:15 PM – 5,000m, Grace Dickel

Friday
10:42 AM – 4x1,600m Relay, Women
11:45 AM – 4x1,600m Relay, Men
12:07 PM – 100m Hurdles, Katarina Vlahovic
1 PM – Discus, Emily March
1:30 PM – Javelin, Jack Vetsch
1:45 PM – Shot Put, Kevin Sakson
2:05 PM – 400m Hurdles, Kaylyn Hall
6:15 PM – Long Jump, Sydney Willits
7:21 PM – 4x800m Relay, Women
7:31 PM – 4x800m Relay, Men

Saturday
11:30 AM – Discus, Jonathan Gannon, Kevin Sakson
11:30 AM – Hammer Throw, Antonella Creazzola, Danielle Hoyle, Emily March
12:10 PM – Distance Medley Relay, Women
12:24 PM – Distance Medley Relay, Men
12:38 PM – Sprint Medley Relay, Women
12:50 PM – Sprint Medley Relay, Men
1:40 PM – 100m Hurdles, Katarina Vlahovic*
2:40 PM/3 PM – 4x400m Relay, Women%
2:47 PM/3:15 PM – 4x400m Relay, Men%

*Vlahovic has to advance out of prelims on Friday to run on Saturday.
%The 4x400 heats are determined by Relays Cup standings heading into the 4x400.

Kip Janvrin Open Entries
110m Hurdles – James Ezeonu, Thai Thompson, Jack Vetsch
400m Hurdles – Joven Nelson, Thai Thompson
Hammer Throw – Jonathan Gannon, Joe Ryan
Javelin – Jack Vetsch

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tanner Anderson

Taylor Briggs

Kelvin Bungei

Kiki Connell

Antonella Creazzola

Maggie Davis

Grace Dickel

James Ezeonu

Jonathan Gannon

Cebastian Gentil

Jason Gómez

Kaylyn Hall

Danielle Hoyle

Darius Kipyego

Noah Kohut-Jackson

Zach Kraft

Emily March

Chase McPherson

Nate Mueller

Sarah Murrow

Joven Nelson

Joe Ryan

Kevin Sakson

Joe Schaefer

Gable Sieperda

Peter Smith

David Thompson

Thai Thompson

Jack Vetsch

Katarina Vlahovic

Sydney Willits

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