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Recap courtesy godrakebulldogs.com

Friday, April 29, 2011

DES MOINES, Iowa - Day Two of the 2011 Drake Relays saw six records broken on the track, and an attendance record set with a Friday night total of 11,131 fans enjoying the sunny skies and temperatures in the low 70s. The 11,131 fans on hand for the “Relays Under the Lights” is the most since it was introduced in 2006.

The elite collegiate talent also took center stage Friday in the relay events, setting up a big day of finals on Saturday.

Baylor won the men's 4x200 meter relay for the fifth year in a row to give the school 54 total men's victories at the Drake Relays, second all-time to Illinois. The Bears clocked a 1:21.47 in victory today.

"The main thing is to win," said junior Zwede Hewitt, who ran the third leg. "I probably shouldn't say this, but we wanted to dominate the competition."

"We don't want to be the first one to lose it," added senior Marcus Boyd, who ran the second leg.

Baylor's men's 4x400 meter relay team, which has run the second-fastest time in the nation this spring, turned in the fastest seed time for Saturday's Drake Relays finals, clocking in at 3:06.80. Saturday they will be shooting for their 17th win in the event in the last 20 years and 18th in the last 22.

The Bears also qualified for Saturday's final in the men's 4x100 as the third-fasted seed.

Nebraska senior Natalie Willer tied the sixth-best height in NCAA Division I for 2011 in winning the pole vault today. The Drake Relays record-holder in the event (14-3½, 2009) cleared 14-1¼ to win the event for the third year in a row.

The University of Wisconsin 4x1600 men's relay team became the third different Big 10 team in as many years to win the event and it marked the third year in a row the team won a distance relays event. The Badgers had a time of 16:32.76 during the 16-lap circuit. *Historical Note: It was Wisconsin's fifth win in that event in the history of the Drake Relays, but first since 1937.

In the University men's 4x800 relay, Minnesota held on for the victory over Iowa. Minnesota showcased its terrific depth over the middle-distances, turning in a terrific 7:19.51 perfmormance.

Wartburg College won the women's college division 4x400 relay for the second time in three years with a time of 3:41.54. Wartburg won the 2009 4x400 in 3:44.34.

Two of Iowa's best high school girls athletes added to their impressive Drake Relays win totals today.

Shelby Houlihan (Sioux City East) raised her Drake Relays career win total to seven today with her third consecutive victory in the 800, in a Drake Relays record time of 2:07.69, just off her 2009 state record of 2:07.35. She also anchored her school to the fastest preliminary time (3:59.53) in the 4x400 this evening with her own split of 55.4.

Thursday she won the girls 3,000 meters in 9:56.71 to improve upon her 2011 state-leading mark of 10:00.71. Houlilhan won the 800 (2:10.17) and 1,500 in 2009 (4:37.03); the 800 in '10 (2:09.22; Relays record) and was part of Sioux City East's winning 4x800 relay team in '09 and 4x400 in '10.

Alex Gochenour (Logan Magnolia) has now won five Relays titles with her second consecutive win in the 100-meter hurdles, taking this year's title in 14.79. She won the long jump yesterday (18-2); won the 400 hurdles in 2010 (1:01.63) and was part of Logan Magnolia's shuttle hurdle relay team in '09. She will look to become the first high school girl athlete since 2002 to win both the 100 hurdles and 400 hurdles when the latter event takes place Saturday afternoon.

Khanishah Williams (Burlington) won her first Drake Relays high jump title after the six-year stranglehold on the event by state and Relays record-holder Hannah Willms of Dike-New Hartford (2005-07) and Tiffanie Synacek of Council Bluffs Jefferson (2008-10). Williams' winning leap was 5-10.

James Harrington (Cedar Falls) won his second Drake Relays title in the 100-meter dash, crossing the line in 10.84, topping last year's winning time of 11.01. Today he also anchored Cedar Falls' 4x200 relay team today that broke the meet recordwith a time of 1:27.41, topping Waterloo West's record of 1:27.45, and ran the opening leg of Cedar Falls' winning 1600 meter sprint medley relay, which finished in 3:31.54.

Roosevelt High School's girls established a Drake Relays record of 1:42.20 in the first running of the 4x200 relay.

Kyle Wheeler of Glenwood established a meet record of 1:55.82 in the first running of the boys' 800 meters.

Former Drake athlete Jeff Grassmeyer took first place in the men's corporate challenge of the Grand Blue Mile run in the stadium this evening, in a record time of 4:29.87 for the second-year event. Ashley Tollakson won the women's Grand Blue Mile corporate challenge, also setting a record with a time of 5:13.79.

Lakewood (Shae Campbell, Kobey Embr, Grant Garner, Blake Johnson) won the Elementary mixed 4x60 yard relay in 33.94; Merrill (Tyanna Whitker, Nyssa Foster, Brianna Carter, Sara Musa) won the middle school girls 4x100 in 54.04 and Callanan (Cameron Williams, Cameron Loew, Tom Stewart, Prince Krah) won the middle school boys 4x100 in 48.41.

Temperatures topped out today at 72 degrees in the late afternoon, though a steady wind was clocked between 20 and 25 mph for most of the day. The temperature at 8 a.m. was 46 degrees, 73% humidity, wind SE 13 mph, when the meet got underway.

Today's attendance for the daytime session was 11,570.