(Des Moines, IA) — The 116th running of the Drake Relays was a resounding success in the world of track and field as hundreds of the state’s top prep, collegiate, and international performers flocked to the Blue Oval. Dozens of Drake Relays records fell while three world-leading marks were established. Three individuals, and one team, stood above their competitors and were honored as the Drake Relays Most Outstanding Performers.
“The Drake Relays is built on bringing the very best together, from high school standouts to world-class professionals,” said Blake Boldon, the Franklin P. Johnson Director of the Drake Relays. “That’s what makes these performances so remarkable. To rise above a field this deep and this competitive speaks volumes about what these athletes achieved on the Blue Oval this week.”
The winners of these prestigious awards consist of two athletes from the Collegiate/Invitational division and two from the High School level.
2026 Drake Relays Most Outstanding Performers
Maury White Award (Collegiate/Invitational Men) – Curtis Thompson
Collegiate/Invitational Women – Billah Jepkirui
Robert Kramme Award (High School Boys) – Quentin Nauman
Gerry Cooley Award (High School Girls) – Waukee Northwest Relay Teams
Two-time Olympian and five-time American national champion Curtis Thompson finally broke through into the winner’s circle during his third appearance at the Drake Relays. Thompson set both a meet and Drake Stadium javelin record during the Thursday Night Throws session. Thompson and his fellow throwers battled winds gusting to 30 miles per hour, but the current world No. 2 made his mark on his fifth attempt with a heave of 84.63m/277-8.
Other collegiate and invitational men considered for the Maury White Award included Iowa’s Terrick Johnson, who anchored the Hawkeyes’ winning 4×400 and 4×800 relays, shot put star Roger Steen, who repeated in the WACT contest and World Shot Put Series action on Wednesday, and Cooper Cawthra, who set stadium and meet records in the men’s 1500.
The Oklahoma State Cowgirls are represented by the program’s first Collegiate/Invitational Women’s Most Outstanding Performer in history. Billah Jepkirui was instrumental on a pair of relay groups as the distance medley and 4×800 anchor. Jepkirui, a five-time Big 12 Conference champion, pulled away from a charging Oregon State group in the final two laps to give the Cowgirls a 10:54.94 victory. Earlier in the meet, Jepkirui brought home another OSU relay, this time in record fashion. The native Kenyan pulled so far ahead on the final lap of the 4×800 that she was racing only against the clock, which she beat. Oklahoma State’s final time of 8:16.65 shattered the previous Relays record and marked the second-fastest collegiate time in history.
Iowa also had a finalist for the women’s Collegiate/Invitational Most Outstanding Performer as Holly Duax won three championship flags. Others considered included South Dakota’s Anna Willis, who moved to fourth in the world with a Relays record in the pole vault, and Madison Wiltrout, who defeated the defending javelin champion with another Drake Relays record.
Quentin Nauman made history last year as the first high school boys athlete to win three individual Drake Relays titles in a single meet since Rock Valley’s Darwin Vande Hoef did so nearly four decades prior. Nauman again won three championships on the Blue Oval this year, but one came in a team race. The Oregon signee began his quest for another triple crown on Thursday night by repeating his title in the boys 3200 in 8:57.64, the best time in the state this year. He followed that performance with another winning time as the anchor on Western Dubuque’s 1600 medley relay squad. In typical Nauman fashion, he closed strong to hold off runner-up Ankeny for a winning time of 3:26.84. Finally, on Saturday, Nauman closed his Drake Relays career with his seventh total championship after winning the Elite High School Boys Mile in 4:05.18.
Other high school boys standouts that were considered for the Robert Kramme Award included Cedar Falls’ Brennen Hoyer, who won the 800 in a near-record 1:51.94 and anchored the Tigers to a 4×800 victory, and Kaiden Kunze of Norwalk, who set a record in the 400 and within four inches from breaking the 42-year-old Relays record in the long jump.
Eleven different runners made up Waukee Northwest’s girls’ relay teams and helped guide the Wolves to unprecedented success inside Drake Stadium. Waukee Northwest established five Iowa all-time bests in the 4×100, 4×200, 4×400, 4×800, and shuttle hurdle relay. The Wolves earned championship flags in all but one of those races as they dropped the baton in the 4×100 final after setting the state record during the preliminary round. Their lowest result came in the sprint medley relay where they managed a runner-up finish. Of their 11 relay runners, Katie Willits, Sadie McCann, Avery Vogt, and Quinn Jorgensen were part of three different squads as the Wolves dominated the Blue Oval.
Willits was individually considered for the Gerry Cooley Award, but her team’s collective efforts were too impressive to identify just one winner. Other notable high school girls performers included another Cedar Falls Tiger in Charlee Gall, who repeated as the 3000 champion and won the Elite High School Girls Mile, and Ottumwa’s Delilah Subsin, who won her second consecutive Drake Relays discus title and was second in the shot put.
The Robert Kramme Award and Gerry Cooley Award will be presented to Nauman and the Waukee Northwest Relay Teams at Drake Stadium on Saturday, May 23, during the final day of the Iowa High School Track and Field Championships.
Also presented on that afternoon will be the High School Relays Cup trophies. The Waukee Northwest girls won convincingly with 28 points to take top honors for the second consecutive year. Cedar Falls edged Cedar Rapids Prairie by just a single tally to sit atop the men’s standings.
Girls H.S. Relays Cup Results:
1. Waukee Northwest – 28
2. Ankeny – 18
3. Southeast Polk – 13
Ankeny Centennial – 13
5. Cedar Falls – 11
Johnston – 11
Boys H.S. Relays Cup Results
1. Cedar Falls – 19
2. Cedar Rapids Prairie – 18
3. Johnston – 13
Dowling Catholic – 13
5. Waukee Northwest – 12
The 117th Drake Relays will be held at historic Drake Stadium April 21-24, 2027.
