DES MOINES, Iowa – Twelve Drake Relays records, including one world leading mark, one top U.S. mark and four Iowa all-time high school bests highlighted the final day of action at the 116th running of America’s Athletic Classic.
In near-perfect weather, the action ranged from the shot put ring to middle distances on the Blue Oval to the pole vault runway.
Two-time World Indoor Championships medalist Roger Steen defended his title in the WACT men’s invitational shot put at 71-11 1/2 (21.77m), improving his No. 2 world ranking distance. Steen had thrown 71-5 1/4 at Ramona, Okla., April 11. Earlier, he won the U.S. Indoor Championships. Steen stood in third place before his winning throw in the fourth round. Two-time Olympian Chuk Enekwechi, from Nigeria, who had the lead through three rounds, finished second at 71-4.
“I’m excited, especially with how far I’m throwing this early,” Steen said. “I’m chomping at the bit to get in the big meets and show the good shape I’m in.”
New world outdoor leader Annika Reiss set the pace for an especially fast group in winning the WACT women’s mile. Her time of 4:25.52 is the fastest in the world this year and that’s not all that was significant about the race. The top nine finishers all ran faster than the previous world outdoor best of 4:34.33 by Argentina’s Micaela Levaggi. The potential was there for Reiss, 24, who ran a 4:24.38 indoors in January and was a nine-time Big Sky champion while competing collegiately at Northern Arizona. Another up-and-comer, 22-year-old Addy Wiley, finished second in 4:25.96 after setting a course record in winning the USATF 1-Mile Championship in downtown Des Moines on Tuesday. Reiss
“l could definitely feel the crowd,” said Reiss. “They were cheering so loud…I think this can really build my confidence because confidence is definitely something I struggle with. So being able to compete at this level and take the win sets me up for a good outdoor season.”
In his first year as a professional, Cooper Cawthra made a splashy Drake Relays debut. Cawthra lined up against a strong field in the WACT men’s invitational 1500, stayed with the pack for most of the race, then ran away from the group over the final 200 meters to set a Drake Relays record, finishing in 3:35.22 which was the fifth-best time in the U.S. this year. His time also is a Drake Stadium record. John Reniewicki held the previous Relays and stadium record of 3:36.44, set two years ago.
“It felt really good to be honest,” said Cawthra, a former Texas A&M runner. “I think trusting what my coach has done to prepare me for this and then just really believing in each step for sure.”
Titouan Le Grix, a world indoor finalist this year competing for France, finished second in 3:36.11. Waleed Suliman, who was a three-time SEC champion at Ole Miss, took third in 3:36.54.
Morris Caps Hall of Fame Weekend with Victory
Sandi Morris, making her first appearance at the Drake Relays since 2021, won the WACT women’s invitational pole vault at 15-3 in her 2026 outdoor debut. It marked her sixth career Drake Relays title in the event while capping a special week that saw her win the Pole Vault in The Mall at the Jordan Creek Town Center Monday followed by her induction into the Drake Relays Athletes Hall of Fame Thursday.
Morris cleared bars at 14-7 1/4 and 14-11 on her first attempt before clearing 15-3 on final attempt. She passed at 15-7 before missing three attempts at 15-9. Morris also won the women’s invitational pole vault at the Drake Relays in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021 and captured the Capital Square pole vault crown in 2016.
“It’s always a pleasure to jump here,” said Morris. “I’ve got family in Illinois, so this hits really close to home for family and friends to come watch me. It was an incredible week getting inducted into the Hall of Fame is an honor. I can’t believe that more than 10 years ago I jumped at my first Drake Relays and I still get to be here today. Time is of the essence, and I have a fire under me. The more years that pass by the more grateful I am to still be here and still jumping the height that I’m jumping and the knowledge that I have more there.”
The Greenville, South Carolina native won the silver medal in the pole vault at the 2016 Summer Olympics and earned silver medals in the 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2025 World Championships. She won the gold medal at the 2018 and 2022 World Indoor Championships, setting a championship record in 2018 with a 16-3 vault. She cleared 16-5 at the 2016 IAAF Diamond League Memorial Van Damme in Brussels to set the current U.S. women’s outdoor pole vault record, which also ranks No. 3 on the all-time world outdoor list.
Katie Moon, reigning 2024 Olympic gold medalist, withdrew from competition following warmups with a calf injury.
Shamier Little, a two-time World Championships silver medalist and an Olympic gold medalist in the 4×400 relay, won the WACT women’s 400 hurdles in 54.72. In her outdoor debut, Little took control at the 200-meter mark.
The win comes after she anchored the U.S, to a gold medal in the 4×400 at the World Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland this year
“It was exciting,” said Little, who posted the second-fastest time in the U.S. this year and No. 4 in the world. “This is my bread and butter…to come out here, the weather was beautiful, it’s perfect and to get the win I couldn’t be more grateful. I felt very strong.”
Former University of Iowa standout Jamal Britt returned to the Blue Oval to capture his second career Drake Relays title in the WACT men’s invitational 110 hurdles. Running into a headwind, Britt won in 13.22 remaining unbeaten this spring in five races.
He also has run the fastest time in the world this spring of 13.07 TWICE – April 4 in Miramar, Fla., and last Saturday in Greensboro, N.C.
“It’s always an honor and exciting to be here,” Britt stated. “The goal was to come out here and win. I wanted to knock that time down, but I had a strong head wind.”
Olympians Allen, Wooten Win
CJ Allen picked up a second Drake Relays title with a come-from-behind performance in the WACT men’s 400 hurdles. Allen stayed consistent while Jamaican Assinie Wilson raced to the early lead, then charged to the front as he headed into the final turn and won in 48.94, the third-fastest time in the U.S. this year and No. 8 in the world. A semifinalist at the Paris Olympics, Allen was the 2019 Drake Relays champion and finished fourth at the U.S. Outdoor Championships last year, missing a spot on the world team by 20-hundredths of a second.
“I’ve been running here since 2018,” said Allen, who was the 2019 Drake Relays champion. “My first professional win was here, so this is a special place for me. It’s always an amazing atmosphere…an amazing crowd and a great track. I felt very smooth and executed well. I focused on hitting different phases of the race that I had been working on and I did that well.”
Jacob Wooten, a Paris Olympian and the 2026 U.S. indoor runner-up, needed only two clearances to win the WACT men’s pole vault. Wooten needed three attempts to get over the opening height of 17-11 1/4 (5.47m) , then was the only jumper to clear 18-5 1/4 (5.62m), which he made on his first try.
Despite a host of accomplished vaulters in the field, there were only three other clearances in the rest of the competition American record KC Lightfoot, Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Chris Nilsen and Drake Relays record holder Sam Kendricks, who was inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame this weekend, each cleared 17-11 1/4 before going out at 18-5 1/4. Kendricks, a two-time world champion and two-time Olympic champion, had been seeking his fifth Drake Relays title. Lightfoot was the defending Drake champion and had won the pole vault at Jordan Town Center in West Des Moines on Tuesday night.
Former LSU NCAA champ Alia Armstrong will always remember her first trip to the Drake Relays. Armstrong, who was sixth in the 60 hurdles at the 2026 World Indoor Championships, opened the invitational portion of events on the Blue Oval track racing to victory in the WACT women’s invitational 100 hurdles in 12.77 seconds.
“I felt really natural,” said Armstrong, who was running just her second hurdle race of the outdoor season. “I’ve been working on my technique, working on executing my race and just focusing in on my lane and I feel I did just that. I just want to show everyone that I belong here and I’m here to stay and I did that today.”
Iowa Sweeps 100, 4×100 Relays
Iowa swept titles in the men’s and women’s university-college 100 dash behind former Iowa prep standouts Holly Duax and Kalen Walker.
Duax defended her Drake Relays title in the university-college women’s 100 (11.52), while Walker became the first Hawkeye to win the men’s university-college men’s 100 since George Paige in 1996, being clocked in 10.30.
Duax was a six-time Iowa state champ competing for Sioux City West High School. Walker was a four-sport standout at Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont High School.
Duax returned to the track a short time later to run the leadoff leg on Iowa’s winning unit in the university sprint medley relay. Anchor Lenna Lewis pulled away in her 800-meter carry to give the Hawkeyes an easy victory in 3:44.68 – their second straight and fifth overall. Lewis ran a solid 2:05.16 anchor.
Duax closed out a busy day by anchoring Iowa’s winning women’s 4×100 relay team which was clocked in a season best 44.01. The Hawkeyes also captured the men’s university 4×100 relay in 39.72.
Another strong anchor from Billah Jepkirui propelled the Oklahoma State women to a second Drake relay title this one in the university distance medley. Jepkirui, a five-time Big 12 champion, answered a challenge from Oregon State’s Ainsley Herron in the final two laps and pulled away to give the Cowgirls the victory in 10:54.94, falling just short of Notre Dame’s Drake Relays record of 10:54.60. It was their fifth title in what has become a signature event for the program at the Relays. Billah, who anchored a victory in the 4×800 relay on Friday, covered the final 1600 meters in 4:32.65. Herron had anchored Oregon State past the Cowgirls to win the 4×1,600 on Thursday but could not match Jepkirui’s kick. The Beavers finished second in 11:04.04.
Iowa State Earns 10th Victory in Distance Medley
Iowa State delighted the local fans with its 10th victory in the men’s university distance medley relay. The Cyclones outdueled Air Force and Missouri to win in 9:40.73, their first Relays crown in the race since going back-to-back in 2019 and 2021. The pandemic forced cancellation of the Drake Relays in 2020. Only Indiana, with 11 titles, has won the event more often at Drake. Air Force finished a close second in 9:41.23 and Missouri was third in 9:43.28.
Behind anchor Rachel Mehringer, Indiana State captured its second women’s Drake Relays university-college 4×100 shuttle hurdle relay title. Mehringer, a five-time Missouri Valley Conference hurdles champ, joined teammates Aubrey Runyon (first leg), Ellie Irwin (second leg) and Sophie Hale (third leg) in the winner’s circle as the Sycamore captured their first Relays flag since 2018.
Seven-five minutes later, Mehringer became the first Indiana State runner ever to win the Drake Relays women’s university-college 100 hurdles, tying a personal best with a 13.10 clocking.
Taylor Kesner made sure the Wisconsin program didn’t have to wait any longer for a Drake Relays victory in a women’s field event. Kesner threw 161-11 (49.35m) on her first attempt in the university-college javelin and that stood up as the winning mark. She became the first Wisconsin athlete to win a Drake Relays title in a women’s field event since Pat Johnson won the long jump in 1981.
It became a Badger sweep in the javelin when Wisconsin’s Jacob Zednik won the men’s event at 229-0 (69.81m). They were the first Wisconsin athletes to win javelin titles at Drake.
Nauman Nails Down One Last Relays Win
Western Dubuque’s Quentin Nauman did what he usually does and pulled away from the pack with his indefatigable kick to win one more race and cap the high school portion of his Drake Relays career with seven championships.
Nauman won the Elite High School Mile in 4:05.18, closing with a 56.82 400 to make sure no one caught him. It’s the fifth-fastest mile by a high school runner in the country this year and marks the second straight year he has won three events at the Relays. He won the 3200 on Thursday and anchored a victory in the 1600 medley relay on Friday. Last year, Nauman swept the 800, 1600 and 3200 and he won the 800 as a sophomore in 2024. He’ll seek another distance sweep at the state meet next month before heading off to the University of Oregon to continue his running career.
Waukee Northwest enjoyed an unprecedented day of fast times and success in the high school girls relay events, setting Relays records and establishing Iowa all-time bests in the 4×100, 4×400, 4×800 and shuttle hurdle relays. The only hiccup for the Wolves was dropping the baton in the finals 4×100 after setting the record in the preliminaries.
Northwest did that with 11 different runners. The only runner who was on more than one relay was Katie Willits, who anchored the 4×100 and ran the opening leg in the shuttle.
Willits also won the 100 on Friday, when Northwest won the 4×800 relay – in a Relays record and all-time Iowa best.
