DES MOINES, Iowa - Senior Taylor Austin obliterated the Indiana State 5K school record, and the Sycamore distance crew put on several impressive performances on a successful day one of the Drake Relays.
 
"The distance crew always gets hyped for the distance festival at the Drake Relays, and outside of the MVC Championships and NCAAs, it's probably our favorite weekend," assistant coach Kyle Walsh said. "Today was about competing against tough competition and not worrying about splits or goal times."
 
The Honorable Mention All-American from a year ago, Taylor Austin set the track on fire in the seeded section of the women's 5K which featured a new Drake Relays record. Austin finished second, falling only to Missouri's NCAA Champion Karissa Schweizer who now owns the meet record at 15:23.21, en route to a 16 second school record time of 16:26.50, overtaking Jessica Crowder's time of 16:42.89 from 2005. Austin pulled away to lead the chase pack for the last 2000-meters of the race and she now holds the second overall time in the MVC and the 47th-best time in the NCAA East Region.
 
Following Austin's performance in the women's 5K, Akis Medrano was determined to leave his mark in the unseeded section of the men's 5K, which ultimately ended with him winning the race after surging in front of the leader during the last 100-meters. Medrano powered across the finish line with a time of 14:19.30, which is not only a new personal-best time, but also the third-best time in Indiana State history behind only Tristan Selby and John Mascari. His time now sits at second in the Valley.
 
"Taylor and Akis stole the show for us in the 5K's with Akis winning his heat with a monster kick, and he's excited knowing only two Sycamores in history have run faster than he did tonight. Taylor came away with another school record and her best finish at Drake, behind the NCAA champion Karissa. She's making huge gains running against top competition and focusing on beating people instead of chasing times. As a result, she continues to break school records," Walsh said.
 
Starting off the day for ISU was Brittany Neeley and Imani Davis in the unseeded section of the women's 800-meter run. Neeley entered the final 400-meters of the race in seventh place, but she kicked it into high gear for the final 400, leading to a victory with a time of 2:08.00. Neeley holds the top time in the conference of 2:06.91 from the Pacesetter Invite, and is also 27th in the East and 47th nationally. Her teammate, sophomore Imani Davis, recorded a new outdoor personal-best time of 2:10.29, moving her up to eighth in school history and fifth in the Missouri Valley.
 
Several other Sycamores had career-best performances during Thursday's Distance Carnival. Jessi Conley and Jocelyn Quiles were two of those athletes, both recording lifetime-bests in the unseeded sections of the women's 1500-meter run. Conley earned a third place overall finish, crossing the line at 4:33.83 and Quiles finished in 11th at 4:38.60.
 
"It was great to see Jessi back to her 1500 form from previous years, earning a personal best and top-five finish tonight," Walsh said.
 
Making his first appearance in the 10K for the blue and white was freshman Cam Trout. Trout's debut couldn't have come in a more prestigious race and he rose to the occasion, finishing 12th and recording a time of 31:28.02, which is less than a minute away from 10th all-time at ISU.
 
Sycamore all-time great, John Mascari, also made his return to the Drake Relays as an unattached runner, and his return did not disappoint. The All-American and ten-time MVC champion is now the sixth multi-champion in Drake Relays history after winning the men's 10K on Thursday with a time of 29:41.13 and also winning the event in 2014.
 
The duo of Colleen Madden and Megan Doty earned a pair of top-ten finishes in the women's 10K on Thursday night. Both racers were neck-and-neck for much of the race, but it was Madden who pulled away for an eighth place finish with a time of 37:14.48 and Doty ended in 10th at 37:27.00.
 
"The 10K squad fought through the winds and put together some solid races. I'm glad Cam got to feel his first career 10K prior to giving it another shot in two weeks at the MVC Championships," Walsh said. "The duo of Colleen and Meg ran extremely tough through the middle stages to both earn top-ten finishes."
 
"Hopefully tonight's achievements will propel the entire team forward for the rest of the weekend. The Sycamores have a long history at the Drake Relays, and we are so excited for the next two days."
 
The Sycamores will resume competition tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. ET with the women's long jump. Action on the track will begin at 1:00 p.m. ET with the 100-meter hurdles prelims.
 
Other Thursday Performances:
 
Women's 3000-Meter Steeplechase:
16. Michaela Ward - 11:13.08
 
Men's Unseeded 5K:
26. Ryan Cash - 15:39.42
 
Women's Unseeded 5K:
21. Alli Workman - 17:45.89
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Track & Field teams, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.