What to Watch at The Drake Relays on Thursday
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sport
The 115th edition of the Drake Relays will take place this week with action on and around the famed blue oval inside Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
The high school section of the event begins on Thursday and concludes on Saturday afternoon.
There are plenty of Your Prep Sports area athletes that will be competing over the three days at Drake Stadium.
Your Prep Sports offers a quick look at what to watch with area athletes on the opening day of high school competition on Thursday.
Decker Makes Individual Debut
One of the top young distance runners in the state, Liberty High sophomore Keegan Decker will make his Drake Relays individual debut on Thursday in the 3,200.
Decker got a Drake Relays introduction last season as a member of the Liberty High 4×800 relay team.
On Thursday Decker returns to the Drake Relays stage seeking to make a splash in his first individual race.
Decker enters with the second fastest 3,200 time in state this season at 9:06.08 trailing only defending Drake Relays champion Cedar Falls junior Jaden Merrick who has clocked a 9:04.9 this spring.
Cracking into the top five in a loaded 3,200 field will be no easy task for Decker.
Led by Merrick each of the top five finishers from last year return as Ankeny senior Ethan Zuber, Pella junior Canaan Dunham, Western Dubuque junior Quentin Nauman and Norwalk senior Tony Anania should all be in the mix.
Will Prince Rule The Throws?
Last year Pella senior Hanson King became just the fifth high school athlete to sweep the throwing events at the Drake Relays.
Clear Creek Amana senior Landon Prince will look to repeat the feat this week.
Prince has been the best thrower in the state thus far this spring and enters with the top mark in both the shot put and the discus.
Prince will open the week with the shot put on Thursday where he enters with the top mark at 62-2.
The toss of 62-2 for Prince is more than three feet better than second best mark in the state this season from Sergeant Bluff-Luton senior Alex Wilson (58-9).
The top 11 finishers in the Drake Relays shot put last season were all seniors with Wilson the top returning finisher after placing 12th a year ago.
West High’s Field Day
West High will look to make a splash on the track on Friday and Saturday but a full weekend of action for the Trojans at the Drake Relays begins with a big field day on Thursday.
The Trojans have a pair of entries in the shot put with junior Collin Whitters and freshman James Barnett and senior Mason Woods will compete in the long jump on Thursday.
Both Barnett and Whitters could be in the mix in the shot put on Thursday.
Whitters enters with the fifth best throw in the state this spring at 56-11 while Barnett has the 11th best throw at 55-8 ½.
Woods enters with the seventh best long jump in the state this season at 23-0 ½.
City High Goes Double in Discus
City High junior Rachel Haack made a major splash last season finishing fourth in the Drake Relays discus with a toss of 135-7.
Haack returns to Drake Stadium this season and has some company.
Junior Hannah Braun joins Haack as discus competitors for the Little Hawks in what should be an exciting discus field.
Haack enters as one of the favorites after her fourth-place finish last season.
Hack has the fourth best throw in the state this season at 141-6 as six competitors enter with marks of 141-2 or better.
Ottumwa junior Delilah Subsin has the top mark in the state this season at 146-10 while defending Drake Relays champion Charlee Morton of Hampton-Dumont-Cal enters with the eighth-best throw at 140-3.
Braun has the 23rd best mark in the state this season at 127-0.
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