What to Watch on Thursday at the Drake Relays
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
The 113 Edition of the Drake Relays gets underway this week and there will be plenty of Your Prep Sports area athletes in action on and around the famed blue oval inside Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
High school events get rolling on Thursday evening to open up an always exciting three-day stretch of track and field.
Here is a quick look at what area to watch with area athletes at the Drake Relays on Thursday.
Petersons Continue Sophomore Surge
What an impressive breakthrough season it has already been for City High sophomores Nina and Nicole Peterson.
After emerging as two of the top distance runners in Class 4A the Petersons will make their Drake Relays debuts on Thursday evening in the 3,200.
The Petersons have each made impressive improvements in their second season.
Both have taken more than 50 seconds off their best 3,200 time from last season and enter the Drake Relays with top 20 times in the state this spring in the event.
Nina Peterson has improved her career best time by more than a minute this season and has the 10th best time in the Drake field at 10:28.55.
Nicole Peterson enters with the 18th best time in the field at 10:36.35.
Liberty High junior Cori Mac has the 11th fastest time in the 3,200 field at 10:28.82.
Highlights Coming in the Boys High Jump?
One of the more exciting events of the Thursday high school slate should be the boys high jump which features eight competitors that have cleared 6-7 or better this spring.
At the top of the list of qualifiers are a pair of Mississippi Valley Conference rivals in City High senior Matt Schaeckenbach and Linn-Mar senior TJ Jackson.
Jackson has cleared a state-best 6-10 ½ this season while Schaeckenbach cleared 6-10 ¼.
The high jump kicks off what will be a busy Drake Relays weekend for Schaeckenbach who is a member of the Little Hawks shuttle hurdle relay team and qualified in the 400 and 110 hurdles.
Solon senior Oaken Foster and Liberty High senior Da’Shon Fisher will both be part of the high jump competition on Thursday.
Foster and Fisher each have cleared 6-5 this season.
Barney and Shafer in Thursday Field Events
The opening day of high school competition on Thursday features a pair of field events for both boys and girls.
In addition to the boys high jump competitors two other Your Prep Sports athletes will compete in field events on Thursday.
Liberty High senior Jasmine Barney will compete in a strong long jump field while Solon sophomore Kate Shafer is in the shot put competition.
Shafer enters with the 21st best mark in the shot put at 119-5 with Pleasant Valley junior Reese Goodlet the leader at 142-8.
Barney has the 22nd best mark in the long jump at 17-4 with Jaeden Pratt of Ankeny Centennial the leader at 18-8.
Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by donating.
