(Des Moines, IA) — Four Drake Relays records were set along with a world mark during the opening day of the 116th running of America’s Athletic Classic at Drake Stadium on Thursday.
Two-time Olympian and five-time U.S. national champion Curtis Thompson finally broke through the winner’s circle in his third appearance at the Drake Relays, setting both a meet and Drake Stadium record in the WACT men’s invitational javelin, at 277 feet 8 inches (84.63m).
Thompson, ranked No. 2 in the world (279-11 at Ramona, Okla., April 11), was sixth in the javelin in his Drake Relays debut in 2024 before finishing as the runner-up last year. He eclipsed the previous Drake Stadium standard of 273-11 (83.50m) by Riley Dolezal at the 2013 USA Championships as well as the meet record of 265-9 (81.00m) by KeyShawn Strachan from Nebraska last year.
In an event that saw three Drake Relays records set during the rounds, Madison Wiltrout emerged with the record in the WACT women’s invitational javelin, recording the best mark in her last attempt. Wiltrout, runner-up in the 2025 Drake Relays, broke Rhema Otabor’s Relays record of 193-11 in the third round with a throw of 195-3. But Otabor, seeking her third straight title, broke that mark to take the lead in the fourth round at 199-7.
On her final attempt in the sixth round, Wiltrout posted a personal best at 209-1 to set another Relays record while regaining the lead. Otabor couldn’t answer, throwing 198-5 on her final attempt.
Wiltrout’s winning throw moved her up No. 2 on the world list this spring, while bettering her previous personal best of 201-1 set in Tucson, Arizona., on March 28.
American record holder Rudy Winkler earned his third career Drake Relays title in the WACT men’s invitational hammer throw with a mark of 258-4 (78.75m) on his fourth attempt. Winkler, who won titles in the 2023 and 2025 Drake Relays, is ranked No. 3 on the world list at 264-5. Air Force senior Texas Tanner finished second at 253-2 (77.16m). Christos Frantzeskakis from Greece was third at 250-2 (76.27), while Iowa junior Ryan Johnson, the 2026 NCAA Indoor weight throw champ, was fourth with a mark of 248-11 (75.89m).
Tanner entered this weekend ranked No. 1 on the collegiate lists in both the hammer throw and discus, while Johnson won the weight throw at the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships. Tanner will attempt to break a Drake Relays record that has stood since 1989 when he competes in the university-college discus Friday night.
In a field which featured six of the top ranked eight throwers in the world, 2022 World Champion Brooke Andersen defended her title in the WACT women’s invitational hammer throw at 257-9 (78.56m), just five inches off the meet record of 258-2 she set in 2023. It also propelled her into No. 2 on the 2026 world list, moving her past Rachel Richeson who had a mark of 256-10.
“Today was great, I felt really connected,” Andersen said. “Really great momentum today, just kept building on every single throw and then finish strong on the last one. Really happy with my series today…[my schedule] was a little hectic in March, but I feel great throwing here and love the energy from the crowd.”
Minnesota junior Annie Nabwe, the 2026 NCAA Indoor weight throw champ, finished second and set a Liberian national record of 254-9 (77.64m). Richeson placed third at 252-7 (76.99m).
A new event was added to Thursday’s Distance Carnival schedule and the Masters 4×800 relay created a world record for the women’s age 65-69 division as the foursome of Lesley Hinz, Deb Torneden, Julie Hayden and Nancy Simmons ran 11:28.28, bettering the previous world mark of 11:38.10 by Great Britain in 2025.
A second-place finish in the final event, the 800 meters, gave Northern Iowa junior Joey Perry the points she needed to slip past former champion Shaina Burns and win the heptathlon. Perry finished with career-best 5,674 points to become the first UNI athlete to win the event.
Her total puts her at No. 11 on the collegiate list nationally, ranks No. 4 on the school’s all-time list and comes after she won the Missouri Valley Conference indoor pentathlon this year and the heptathlon last spring. Anneke Moersdorf was second with 5,665 points and Burns, the 2023 Drake Relays champion, slipped to third with 5,610 points after holding the lead going into the final event.
Former Colorado State athletes Drew Thompson and Josh Cogdill, now competing for the Lux Viridi Athletic Club, finished 1-2 in the decathlon. Thompson staked himself to a solid lead by winning four of the five events on Wednesday’s first day of the competition, increased his margin with a personal best in the opening event Thursday, the 110 hurdles, and secured his victory with a second-place finish in the final event, the 1500. He finished with 7,514 points.
Cogdill, a three-time Mountain West Conference champion in the decathlon during his time at Colorado State, compiled 7,283 points after a consistent second-day showing, finishing second in the 110 hurdles, third in the javelin and fourth in the discus.
Linn-Mar’s Abby Mecklenberg highlighted the high school competition by soaring to a Relays record in the girls long jump. And she not only did it just once. She went past the previous record on all six of her jumps, topping out at 20-5 1/2. That’s more than a foot better than the old record of 19-3 3/4 by Cedar Rapids Washington’s LaNeisha Waller in 2004.
Mecklenberg’s sensational performance came after she lost to Clear Lake’s Reese Brownlee by a quarter of an inch at last year’s Drake Relays. The Linn-Mar senior is the state’s all-time leader in the event at 20-8 1/4.
Western Dubuque running ace Quinten Nauman began his quest for another distance triple by repeating his title in the boys 3200. Nauman put the hammer down on the final lap to win 8:57.64, the best time in the state this year.
Nauman sped the final 400 meters in 54.94 seconds to pass Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s Slader Buckheister and Bettendorf’s AJ Willey to post the fastest time in the state this year. Beckheister held on for second in 9:00.34 and Pella’s Canaan Dunham took third in 9:01.06.
Nauman will run in the 800 on Friday and will be favored in the Elite High School Mile on Saturday.
Cedar Falls sophomore Charlee Call became the first repeat winner in the girls 3000 since Ballard’s Paityn Noe in 2002 and 2023 and the eighth overall. She stayed back in the pack early, began moving up at the halfway point and pulled away over the final three laps to win in 9:34.75 and become the state leader in the event. Mount Vernon’s Evelyn Moeller, the previous leader, was second in 9:37.37.
Ainara Sainz De Rozas, a senior from Concordia (Wis.), won the women’s 10,000 in 34:02.36 – the second fastest time at the NCAA Division III level this spring. It marked the second Drake Relays title in program history the Wisconsin school.
The men’s 10,000-meter run was pushed back to Friday night because of threatening weather.
