DES MOINES, Iowa – Indiana State men's and women's track and field will hit the road this week to compete at the 108th running of the prestigious Drake Relays.
As with past years, some of the best athletes in the world will take the track in Des Moines, many of whom will compete in the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London and recently competed in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio.
In the college division, Indiana State will be sending some of the finest in the NCAA, including six current Sycamores ranked in the national top-50.
Top among them is senior hurdler
Marcus Neely, who will be looking to keep the historic success of Sycamore hurdlers at the Drake Relays going. Neely enters the meet ranked 18th in the NCAA and 10th in the East Region in the 110-meter hurdles at 13.79, not far off his overall career-best 13.70 run at last season's MVC Outdoor Championships.
Neely will be looking to replicate former Sycamore All-American
Adarius Washington's success from the 2016 Drake Relays, where he won the university/college division 110-meter hurdles at a blistering and wind-legal career-best time of 13.40 in the rain – the third-best time in school history and at the time No. 1 in the NCAA, No. 2 in the United States and under the standard for both the U.S. Olympic Trials and the Rio Olympic Games.
For the second straight season, Neely will also be a member on ISU's shuttle hurdle relay team at the Relays. Neely and teammates
Daley Carter,
Justin Wolz and
Michael Boger will look to include themselves on an illustrious list of former Sycamore teams to bring home the shuttle hurdle title from Drake – including just last season.
The most memorable title, of course, is the 2001 team that included superb hurdlers like NCAA Champion Aubrey Herring and current ISU assistant coach
Jeff Martin – who set the Drake Relays record (and still-standing ISU record) at 55.06.
Fellow senior
Daley Carter will run in the 110-meter hurdles as well, entering with the 40th-best time in the nation at 14.09. Four other national top-50 hurdlers will be in the fray, including Iowa's Aaron Mallett (5th, 13.56), Milwaukee's Nate Pozolinski (12th, 13.70), Purdue's Justin Veteto (36th, 14.06) and Ohio State's DaJuan Seward (49th, 14.12).
Another returning victor is senior All-American
David Timlin, who won an exciting 1500-meter race in the rain at Relays in 2016. Timlin just returned to the track this outdoor season two weeks ago at the Gibson Invitational at home, but last season he won the Relays title by one-hundredth of a second at 3:45.28 after an incredible kick on his final lap.
Also entering the meet in the men's national top-50 is high jumper
Jaime Murtagh in 40th at 2.12m (6-11.50).
On the women's side, junior
Taylor Austin enters as the top-ranked Sycamore nationally. She currently stands 29th nationally and 11th regionally in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 10:17.73 – narrowly off her school-record 10:17.70 ran last season. Austin will run in the steeple on Saturday morning in addition to running a leg on the women's 4x1600-meter relay on Thursday evening. Last season, the Sycamore quartet of Austin,
Brooke Moore,
Brittany Neeley and
Abigail Grider broke the school record at 19:57.60, which this year's relay of Moore, Austin, Grider and
Taylor Rogers will attempt to topple.
Another school record that could come down is the long-standing 4x800-meter relay time of 8:48.97 set in 1995. Moore – who enters the weekend 46th in the NCAA in the 800 at 2:06.74 – will join a fearsome relay team of
Imani Davis (2:11.26),
Brittany Neeley (2:12.01) and
Alethia Marrero (2:06.33). Based upon last week's
USTFCCCA #EventSquad rankings, that 800 foursome would currently rank 12th in the NCAA at a total of 8:36.34
Marrero's 800-time also enters the meet high on the national and regional lists, ranking 37th in the NCAA and 20th in the East Region.
Indiana State's stay at the 2017 Drake Relays begins Thursday night in the Distance Carnival, with the women's 4x1600-meter relay at 7:40 p.m. ET and both the women's and men's 10,000-meter races at 8:30 and 9:10 p.m. ET, respectively.
*All Times are Eastern
Thursday, April 27, 2017:
7:40 p.m. – Women's 4x1600-Meter Relay –
Brooke Moore,
Taylor Austin,
Abigail Grider,
Taylor Rogers
8:30 p.m. – Women's 10,000-Meter –
Megan Doty,
Alli Workman,
Colleen Madden
9:10 p.m. – Men's 10,000 –
Akis Medrano
Friday, April 28, 2017:
10:32 a.m. – Women's 100-Meter Hurdles Prelim –
Patrycja Dziekonska,
Ayanna Morgan
10:45 a.m. – Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Prelim –
Marcus Neely,
Daley Carter
11:00 a.m. – Women's Long Jump –
Caitlyn Redmon
12:00 p.m. – Men's Shot Put –
Hunter Schuman,
Vince Laconi
12:55 p.m. – Women's 4x100-Meter Relay Prelim –
Shana Cooper,
Patrycja Dziekonska,
Oschtisha Jackson,
Ahmanah Woods
1:05 p.m. – Men's 4x100-Meter Relay Prelim –
Scott Schreiber,
Daley Carter,
Devyn Mikell,
Tristan Parmley
1:30 p.m. – Men's Pole Vault –
Trey Kennedy,
Riley Smith
2:00 p.m. – Women's Discus –
Jasmine Noel
2:30 p.m. – Men's Triple Jump –
Gino Brown
4:28 p.m. – Men's 4x400-Meter Relay Prelim –
Liam McGrath,
Tyrell Dowdell,
CJ Anyaebunam,
Charles Sykes
7:50 p.m. – Men's 4x200-Meter Relay –
Tristan Parmley,
Tyrell Dowdell,
Carl McQuay, Adrian Gibson
8:48 p.m. – Women's 4x800-Meter Relay –
Brooke Moore,
Imani Davis,
Brittany Neeley,
Alethia Marrero
Saturday, April 29, 2017:
10:00 a.m. – Women's Hammer –
Jasmine Noel
10:35 a.m. – Women's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase –
Taylor Austin
11:00 a.m. – Men's High Jump –
Jaime Murtagh,
Tyler Owen
11:00 a.m. – Women's Pole Vault –
Kaitlyn Moricz
11:07 a.m. – Women's Sprint Medley Relay –
Shana Cooper,
Oschtisha Jackson,
Imani Davis,
Alethia Marrero
11:27 a.m. – Men's Sprint Medley Relay –
Tristan Parmley,
Carl McQuay,
Tyrell Dowdell,
Blake Kramer
12:05 p.m. – Men's Shuttle Hurdle Relay Prelim –
Marcus Neely,
Daley Carter,
Justin Wolz,
Michael Boger
1:00 p.m. – Men's Long Jump –
Devyn Mikell
1:25 p.m. – Men's Shuttle Hurdle Relay Final
1:30 p.m. – Women's Shot Put –
Cassaundra Roper
1:30 p.m. – Men's Distance Medley Relay –
Blake Kramer,
CJ Anyaebunam,
Tony Rigoni,
Ryan Cash
2:00 p.m. – Women's Distance Medley Relay –
Abigail Grider,
Alethia Marrero,
Aleksey Green,
Brittany Neeley
2:00 p.m. – Men's Hammer –
Ryan Chestnut
3:30 p.m. – Women's 100-Meter Hurdles Final
3:44 p.m. – Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Final
4:06 p.m. – Men's 1500-Meter –
David Timlin
4:14 p.m. – Women's 4x100-Meter Relay Final
4:20 p.m. – Men's 4x100-Meter Relay Final
4:52 p.m. – Men's 4x400-Meter Relay Final
Men's National Top 50:
18.
Marcus Neely – 110-Meter Hurdles – 13.79
40.
Daley Carter – 110-Meter Hurdles – 14.09
40.
Jaime Murtagh – High Jump – 2.12m (6-11.50)
Women's National Top 50:
29.
Taylor Austin – 3,000-Meter Steeplechase – 10:17.73
37.
Alethia Marrero – 800-Meter Run – 2:06.33
46.
Brooke Moore – 800-Meter Run – 2:06.74
Men's Regional Top-48:
10.
Marcus Neely – 110-Meter Hurdles – 13.79
21.
Daley Carter – 110-Meter Hurdles – 14.09
21.
Jaime Murtagh – High Jump – 2.12m (6-11.50)
38.
Tyrell Dowdell – 400-Meter Dash – 47.24
Women's Regional Top-48:
11.
Taylor Austin – 3,000-Meter Steeplechase – 10:17.73
20.
Alethia Marrero – 800-Meter Run – 2:06.33
24.
Brooke Moore – 800-Meter Run – 2:06.74
25.
Brooke Moore – 1500-Meter Run – 4:20.02
For the latest information on the Sycamore Track and Field team, make sure to check out
GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including
Facebook and
Twitter.
