Cyclones Get Three Wins Friday at Drake Relays

DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa State picked up three event wins on Friday at the Drake Relays. The Cyclones left Drake Stadium for the night with a fourth-straight men's 4x800m relay victory, a first victory in the men's 4x1,600m relay in 29 years and a first-ever women's discus title via Emily March.

The Frank Cramer men's 4x800m title has been controlled by Iowa State for three-straight seasons. Even with three new faces compared to the 2021 record-breaking squad, the Cyclones were still ready to go. ISU was in the top-two at each exchange, with all of Peter Smith, Cebastian Gentil, Darius Kipyego and Jason Gomez splitting below 1:51, with the latter two stepping up more with Kipyego going 1:48.20 and Gomez bringing home the win in 1:47.87.

Iowa State's victory gives them an early lead in the Relays Cup with 10 points, the Cyclone quartet's time is good for No. 2 in ISU history, the 20th-fastest in NCAA Division I history in the event and ISU's four-peat makes them the first team to bring home four-straight men's 4x800 titles since Kansas won five-straight from 1958-62. Smith and Kipyego got their first career Drake Relays titles, while Gomez got his third after being a member of last year's 4x800 and distance medley relay. Gentil also got his third, being a member of ISU's 4x800 and distance medley relay winners in 2019.

Iowa State started its 4x1,600m with Ryan Ford, who put up a solid first carry of 4:10.36 and having the Cyclones within two seconds of the leaders when handing off to Chad Johnson. Johnson's big kick in the final lap translated to a 4:01.98 carry, almost four seconds faster than anyone else as he handed off to Ezekiel Rop, who also had the fastest carry on his leg in 4:06.11 to Nehemia Too. ISU's anchor on its NCAA Indoor First Team All-America distance medley relay team showed his class at the distance, with his 4:04.61 anchor carry almost three seconds faster than the rest of the field as he brought home the ISU win.

Iowa State's 4x1,600m relay win was the 10th in Iowa State history and first since 1993. The Cyclone quartets mark of 16:23.05 was the fastest at the Drake Relays since Oklahoma State in 2017. All four Cyclones also won their first Drake Relays champions flags, with Johnson and Rop doing so in their Drake Stadium debuts.

March continued her good run in the discus on Friday. After a first-round throw of 181-2 (55.23m) put her in second after the first round, March took the lead with a big second throw of 188-2 (57.36m) for the lead she would not relinquish. Her third throw of 186-9 (56.92m) would have been enough to win, too, but with the victory locked up she left on a bang with a season best 189-11 (57.88m) on her final throw.

March is the first ISU woman in program history to win the discus at the Drake Relays. She is the first Cyclone women's thrower to earn a Drake Relays champion flag since Iowa State Hall of Famer Lisa Griebel won the shot put in 2001.

In the men's shot put, Kevin Sakson unloaded a huge personal best of 62-4 (19.00m), a two-and-a-half-foot PR, to finish fourth. Sakson's throw moves him to fifth in ISU outdoor history in the event, and (at the time of publication) No. 26 in NCAA Division I this season.

In the women's hurdles races, Katarina Vlahovic earned a second run tomorrow, taking fourth in Friday's prelims in 13.81. Kaylyn Hall continued her progress in the 400-meter hurdles, taking ninth place in 59.52, the second-fastest time of her career for the event.

Kip Janvrin Open
Joven Nelson continued his good form in the 400-meter hurdles, as he took second place in the men's division with a new personal best 52.71.

In the men's hammer throw, Joe Ryan set a new personal best with a toss of 195-2 (59.50m) to finish third. Ryan's throw moved him up to No. 6 in ISU history for the event.

Up Next
Iowa State closes out the Drake Relays tomorrow. The Cyclones' first field event will be the men's discus and women's hammer throw at 11:30 a.m., with ISU's competition beginning on the track at 12:10 p.m. with the women's distance medley relay.

Drake Relays Results
100m Hurdles Prelims (W): 1. Aasia Laurencin, Michigan – 13.55; 4. Katarina Vlahovic, Iowa State – 13.81
400m Hurdles (W): 1. Masai Russell, Kentucky – 56.27; 9. Kaylyn Hall, Iowa State – 59.52
Frank Cramer 4x800m Relay (M): 1. Iowa State (Peter Smith, Cebastian Gentil, Darius Kipyego, Jason Gomez) – 7:17.47
4x800m Relay (W): 1. Kentucky – 8:25.25; 7. Iowa State (Janette Schraft, Riley Beach, Madelynn Hill, Bella Heikes) – 8:54.76
4x1,600m Relay (M): 1. Iowa State (Ryan Ford, Chad Johnson, Ezekiel Rop, Nehemia Too) – 16:23.05
4x1,600m Relay (W): 1. Oklahoma State – 19:03.37; 6. Iowa State (Sarah Murrow, Dana Feyen, Brenna Cohoon, Winrose Chesang) – 19:47.98
Shot Put (M): 1. Maxwell Otterdahl, Nebraska – 63-9 1/2 (19.44m); 4. Kevin Sakson, Iowa State – 62-4 (19.00m)
Discus Throw (W): 1. Emily March, Iowa State – 189-11 (57.88m)
Long Jump (W): 1. Lishanna Ilves, Nebraska – 20-7 3/4 (6.29m); 16. Sydney Willits, Iowa State – 18-9 3/4 (5.73m)

Kip Janvrin Open Results
110m Hurdles (M): 1. Myles Huner, Fitted Athletics – 13.65w; 7. James Ezeonu, Iowa State – 14.87w; 17. Jack Vetsch, Iowa State – 15.54w
400m Hurdles (M): 1. Josh Knutson, North Dakota State – 52.62; 2. Joven Nelson, Iowa State – 52.71; 4. Thai Thompson, Iowa State – 54.23
3,000m Steeplechase (M): 1. Quinton Orr, Unattached – 9:12.22
Hammer Throw (M): 1. Lane Jellison, Buena Vista – 224-11 (68.56m); 3. Joe Ryan, Iowa State – 195-2 (59.50m); 5. Zach Verzani, Unattached – 192-1 (58.54m); 11. Garret Wagner, Unattached – 169-3 (51.59m); 14. Jonathan Gannon, Iowa State – 161-8 (49.29m); 28. Blake Wiederhold, Unattached – 149-5 (45.54m)
Hammer Throw (W): 1. Amy Phillips, North Dakota State – 205-0 (62.48m); 11. Rebecca Manteuffel, Unattached – 157-0 (47.86m)
Discus Throw (M): 1. Jake Kubiatowicz, Minnesota – 175-11 (53.63m); 2. Cam Jones, Unattached – 174-10 (53.28m)
Discus Throw (W): 1. Natalie Mohring, North Dakota – 149-8 (45.62m); 2. Rebecca Manteuffel, Unattached – 144-8 (44.09m)
Shot Put (M): 1. Cam Jones, Unattached – 59-9 (18.21m); 8. Blake Wiederhold, Unattached – 52-2 1/2 (15.91m); 15. Garret Wagner, Unattached – 47-3 (14.40m)
Shot Put (W): 1. Ianna Roach, Iowa – 47-6 1/2 (14.49m); 7. Rebecca Manteuffel, Unattached – 42-10 1/4 (13.06m)

Players Mentioned

Riley Beach

Winrose Chesang

Brenna Cohoon

James Ezeonu

Dana Feyen

Ryan Ford

Jonathan Gannon

Cebastian Gentil

Jason Gómez

Kaylyn Hall

Bella Heikes

Madelynn Hill

Chad Johnson

Cam Jones

Darius Kipyego

Emily March

Sarah Murrow

Joven Nelson

Quinton Orr

Ezekiel Rop

Joe Ryan

Kevin Sakson

Janette Schraft

Peter Smith

Thai Thompson

Nehemia Too

Zach Verzani

Jack Vetsch

Katarina Vlahovic

Garret Wagner

Blake Wiederhold

Sydney Willits

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