KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
DES MOINES, IOWA – Indiana State senior Felisha Johnson pushed her school record distance in the women's shot put just a little bit further at the 104th Drake Relays Friday as she finished second in the event with a new record throw of 59'-7” (18.16m).
She was not the only Sycamore to post a new school record as the men's 4x200 meter relay team of Kevin Piraino, Justin Baxtron, Keith Housley, and Shaun Smith also set an Indiana State record in a third place finish. The relay was timed in 1:26.30 which surpasses the old record of 1:26.51 set just a year ago by Devin Price, Piraino, Baxtron, and Andrew Stull.
The same four came within eighth hundredths of a second of qualifying for the 4x100 meter relay finals as they combined for a 41.28 finish and ninth place.
The Sycamore women's 4x200 meter relay team ran the second fastest time in school history in finishing seventh overall while the 4x100 relay team ran a season best 46.02 to advance to Saturday's finals.
Katie Wise, Demetra Camble, Macey Black and Kaisha Martin combined to run 1:38.28 in the women's 4x200 meter relay which placed them seventh overall. The time is second on the Sycamore all-time list behind the 1993 time of 1:37.15 set by Patriece Gayle, Kathe Kruer, Cindy Dobbs and Holli Hyche.
The same Sycamore combination ran a season best 46.02 in the women's 4x100 meter relay earlier in the day which qualified them for the finals at 4:30 p.m. (ET) Saturday. The time ranks sixth on the Indiana State all-time list.
Also advancing to a Saturday final was Greggmar Swift who is the defending Drake Relays champion in the 110 meter hurdles. The Sycamore junior topped the field in the preliminaries Friday but it was only by less than a hair. Race officials had to go to thousands of a second to establish the top seed for the finals with Swift times at 14.171 and Illinois junior Vanier Joseph 14.176. They two will run in the finals at 3:52 p.m. (ET) Saturday.
Johnson and Oklahoma senior Tia Brooks have been the top two shot putters in the nation since the 2013 Indoor season began and Johnson finished second to Brooks at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Brooks again topped the Sycamore but had to do so with a record setting performance with a Drake Relays record distance of 60'-11¼” (18.57m).
Maurice Lyke placed eighth in the long jump as he tied his career best with a distance of 24'-4½” (7.43m) after opening the day with a 10th place finish in the 110 meter hurdles (14.73). Lyke's heat ran into a strong headwind but he was still just a second away from advancing to the Saturday final.
Leeann Michl competed in the seeded women's 800 meters and placed eighth with a time of 2:08.39.
In other results from Friday's competition for the Sycamore men: Piraino, Arqeil Shaw, Max Tuttle, and Jonathan Jackson combined for a 3:12.63 finish in the 4x400 meter relay and 12th place; Corey Hahn, Shaw, Brad Adams, and Dustin Betz combined for a 10:18.15 finish in the distance medley relay and 14th place; Duane Brown was 15th (14.84) and Adarius Washington 21st (15.03) in the 110 meter hurdle preliminaries; Derek Bunch had a throw of 55'-9¼” (17.00m) which placed him 13th in the shot put; and Jordan Colanese had a distance of 181'-6” (55.33m) in the javelin which placed him 17th.
In other Friday results for the Indiana State women: Nicole Hope and Kimyanna Rudolph tied for 10th in the pole vault as each cleared 12'-9½” (3.90m); Macey Black, Shelby Higginbottom, Michl, and Stacia Weatherford combined to run 3:43.26 in the 4x400 meter relay which placed them 11th overall; Johnson competed in the hammer throw and finished 14th overall with a distance of 154'-10” (47.20m); and Wise ran 12.46 in the 100 meters to place 20th overall.
LONDON GAMES REMATCH
Former Sycamore Kylie Hutson placed third in the London Games Rematch women's pole vault as she cleared 14'-10¼” (4.53m) at the Drake Relays Friday. Olympian Yarisley Silva of Cuba, who won the Pole Vault at the Mall on Wednesday, won the outdoor competition Friday by clearing 15'-11” (4.85m). Jenn Suhr, the USA Indoor Champion, was second at 15'-2¼” (4.63m).
FINAL DAY ON SATURDAY
The final day of competition for most of the individuals at the Drake Relays will be on Saturday and that is also the case for the Sycamores. The day will begin with preliminaries in the women's 4x100 shuttle hurdle relay at 9:20 a.m. (ET) and followed immediately by the men's 4x110 meter shuttle hurdle relay. The finals will be held at 1:50 p.m. (ET). Indiana State will also compete in the men's and women's sprint medley relay with the women's 4x100 meter relay team running in the finals at 4:30 p.m. (ET).
Several individuals will also be in competition including Felisha Johnson (women's hammer throw), Brandon Pounds (men's discus and men's hammer throw), Shalesa Smith (triple jump), Carmelia Stewart (triple jump), Kalli Dalton (3,000 steeplechase), Dustin Betz (3,000 steeplechase), Stacia Weatherford (400 hurdles), Jonathan Jackson (400 hurdles), and Max Tuttle (400 hurdles). Greggmar Swift will also be competing in the finals of the men's 110 hurdles at 3:52 p.m. (ET).
