2024 Drake Relays: Results, big performances from each Iowa City area team
The 2024 Drake Relays was filled with Iowa’s elite in track and field, and the event saw its fair share of elite performances in Des Moines.
A total of 128 competitors from Clear Creek Amana, Iowa City High, Iowa City West, Liberty, Regina Catholic and Solon represented the Iowa City area throughout the three-day competition on the Blue Oval.
Here’s how each team stacked up at the 2024 Drake Relays.
Clear Creek Amana
CCA had 10 boys and six girls qualify for the Drake Relays.
CCA boys placed 17th in the distance medley and 22nd in the 4x100 relay prelims. The girls placed 62nd in the 4x100 prelims.
On the boys side, sophomore Aren Schlemme and junior Landon Prince were the only CCA athletes to compete in individual events. Schlemme finished 7th in the long jump and 13th in the 110-meter hurdle prelims. Prince placed 18th in the discus.
Iowa City High
City High was represented by 11 boys and two girls at the Drake Relays.
Sophomore Rachel Haack placed fifth in the discus throw with a score of 135 feet, seven inches. Senior Sierra Pruessner finished 24th in the girls 100-meter hurdle prelims.
Iowa City High boys finished 13th in the 4x100 shuttle hurdle prelims, 15th in the 4x200 and 21st in the 4x100 prelims.
Junior Isaac Washpun placed 10th in the boys long jump while Miles Parlet finished 13th in the event.
Iowa City West
The Trojans had 17 boys and 14 girls compete at the Drake Relays.
The quartet of Todd Rent, Izaiah Loveless, Aidan Jacobsen and Moustafa Tiea won their second-straight boys distance medley title with a time of 3:27.83.
“I think it’s a great achievement for us to go back-to-back,” Loveless said. “For all four of us to come back and win again is something special for all four of us, it means a lot.”
Iowa City West boys won third in the 4x100, fourth in the 4x200, 16th in the 4x400, 18th in the 4x100-meter hurdles and 19th in the 4x800 relay. Tiea placed sixth in the 1600 meters and 16th in the 800 meters while Loveless took home 11th place in the 100-meter prelims.
Jacobsen, an Iowa State commit, won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 52.03.
"In the back of my mind, I was thinking about the meet record but anything that got me the win I was going to be happy with so I'm just really happy," Jacobsen said. "I have such great teammates. It's so amazing to be able to run with them every single day and we push each other in practice and to come out here and let our work show on the track and win flags, it's an amazing feeling."
Iowa City West girls, including Erinn Varga, Jaylin Herring, Eriniah Carter and Sophia Olivo, placed third in the girls shuttle hurdles in 1:04.87. The girls finished 22nd in the 4x400 and 72nd in the 4x100 prelims. Individually, junior Sophia Olivo placed 12th in the 100-meter hurdles, while senior Erinn Varga placed 15th in the 400-meter hurdles.
Liberty
Liberty had 12 boys and nine girls qualify for the Drake Relays.
Liberty girls placed 15th in both the 4x200 relays and 800-meter sprint medley relay. They also placed 88th in the 4x100 prelims. Sophomore Alexi Thigpen took home sixth place in the long jump with a score of 16 feet, 8.75 inches. Senior Cori Mac placed 13th in the 3000 meters.
Liberty boys placed 10th in the distance medley, 12th in the 4x800 and 69th in the 4x100 prelims. Senior Aidan Decker finished in 16th place in the 1600 meters.
Regina Catholic
The Regals were represented by six girls and six boys at the Blue Oval.
Regina girls placed 70th in the 4x100 prelims while the boys placed 53rd in the event.
Solon
The Spartans had 20 boys and 15 girls compete at the Drake Relays.
Solon girls, the reigning Class 3A state champions, placed 12th in the both the 4x200 relays and 800-meter sprint medley relay. They also finished 16th in the 4x400, 18th in the 4x800 and 25th in the 4x100 prelims.
Gracie Federspiel was the only girl to compete in multiple individual events. The Iowa State commit placed ninth in the 800 meters and 13th in the 400 meters.
"I think our team was really excited to come [to Drake], like the relays and the individuals," Federspiel said. "It is kind of sad being at my last Drake Relays, so I just really wanted to try to prove myself to myself and try my best at the end of the day."
Juniors Aly Stahle finished 15th in the 100-meter hurdles prelims, while Kate Shafer placed 22nd in the discus throw. Senior Mia Duckett finished in 28th place in the 100-meter prelims.
Solon boys finished 11th in the 4x400 relay, 16th in the 4x100 shuttle hurdle prelims, 19th in the distance medley and 60th place in the 4x100 prelims.
Duke University commit Ben Kampman claimed eighth in discus with a throw of 172 feet, nine inches. Brick Kabela took home 18th place in the 3200 meters while senior Marcus Richard claimed 20th place in the shot put.
Marc Ray is the high school sports reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. He can be reached at MARay@gannett.com, and on X, formerly Twitter, at @themarcszn.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: How each Iowa City area team performed at the 2024 Drake Relays
