Photo by Jeff Yoder / Click here to view Drake Relays photo gallery

Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – Ashlyn Keeney came into her first prep track season with extremely high and very specific goals in the 3,000 and 1,500.

The 800 was a different story for the Liberty High freshman standout.

“This year I wasn’t really shooting for anything in the 800 because I haven’t really been an 800 runner,” Keeney said. “I didn’t really know what was possible.”

On Friday at the Drake Relays Keeney gave a glimpse of the possibilities that lie ahead in her shortest individual event.

A day after winning the 3,000 while clocking the time by a freshman in state history Keeney nearly doubled that feat in the 800.

Keeney ran the fastest 800 time ever by a freshman in Iowa, finishing runner-up to Cedar Falls junior Mackenzie Michael in 2:09.99 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

Michael held off a late charge from Keeney over the final 200 meters to win in 2:09.88, the fastest time for a Drake relays 800 winner since 2015.

“At the end she pulled ahead a little and I was pretty disappointed obviously but she deserved it,” Keeney said. “She did.”

Keeney made quite a splash in her Drake debut on Thursday winning the 3,000 with the fourth best time in state history.

Her performance in her newest event on Friday was equally impressive.

Keeney shaved .66 off her previous career-best time in the 800 that was tops in the state this spring entering the Drake Relays.

All for a freshman that owns the top time in Iowa in both the 3,000 and 1,500 and didn’t have a specific goal in the 800 as late as a few weeks ago.

“I started to see my times get faster and when I ran a 2:15 my goal was just to try improve as much as I could,” Keeney said. “When I hit 2:10 early this season I didn’t have much of a goal besides trying to pr as much as I can.”

Keeney stayed within a pace of a tight pack for the opening 600 meters.

Over the final 200 meters it was Michael, Keeney and Ottumwa junior Allison Bookin-Nosbisch that began to pull away.

Michael had the fifth best time in the state this spring at 2:15.8 but wouldn’t let Bookin-Nosbisch or Keeney pull even over the final 100 meters.

“The last 200 I said ‘O.K. Ashlyn you are going to try to get them, you’ve done it before and come from right behind them’,” Keeney said. “I was sprint with her and thought maybe I can get her, maybe I can get her but she is a really fast sprinter.”

Keeney ran the 400-meter anchor leg on the Liberty High sprint medley relay team that placed 17th in 1:52.17 and will run on the Lightning 4×800 squad Friday evening.

She owns the top 1,500 time in the state this spring by nearly four seconds but opted for running relays with teammates on Friday and cheering them on from the stands on Saturday.  

“It gives me tonight and tomorrow to just cheer on my teammates, have fun and relax,” Keeney said. “It also allows me to do two relays with my team so more people got to run and we got to do it together.”

Liberty High junior Taylor Cannon finished fourth in the 100 hurdles for the Lightning in a time of 14.62.

Cannon took more than .40 of her previous season best finishing behind champion Darby Thomas of Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln, West High senior Peyton Steva and Grave Martensen of Benton Community.

Drake Relays

Individual results (Event winner; area participants)

100 – 1. Kerris Roberts (Waterloo East) 11.82

800 – 1. Mackenzie Michael (Cedar Falls) 2:09.88; 2. Ashlyn Keeney (Liberty High) 2:09.99; 10. Emma Bock (Solon) 2:16.15.

100 hurdles – 1. Darby Thomas (Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln) 14.3; 2. Peyton Steva (West High) 14.33; 4. Taylor Cannon (Liberty High) 14.62; 6. Caroline Schaeckenbach (City High) 15.01

Sprint medley relay – 1. Davenport Assumption 1:46.9; 4. Solon (Khaylor Fleck, Cayley Annis, Taylor Ryan, Erin Kerkhoff) 1:49.5; 15. City High (Te’Nia Ansley, Emma Clark, Emma Cooper, Ayana Lindsey) 1:51.95; 17. Liberty High (Chaise Lange, Tayshauna McGee, Devon Dunson, Ashlyn Keeney) 1:52.17

4×200 – 1. Waukee 1:42.45; 9. Solon (Taylor Ryan, Makinley Levin, Abby Smith, Erin Kerkhoff) 1:45.03; 17. City High (Emma Cooper, Ayana Lindsey, Emma Clark, Mia DePrenger) 1:46.82; 23. West High (Peyton Steva, Celestina Nuro-Gyina, Mia Dillingham, Amy Liao) 1:49.7

4×800 – 1. Southeast Polk 9:10.38; 11. Liberty High (Cami Mac, Anna Reese, Ashlyn Keeney, McKenzie Logan) 9:46.56

Shot put – 1. Jamie Kofron (Tipton) 45-2 ¼; 5. Salima Omari (West High) 39-7 ¼; 25. Alexie Little (West High) 34-10 ½

High jump – 1. Miracle Ailes (Keokuk) 5-8

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