Tomlyanovich helps Cedar Falls break meet record with 3:16.67 effort in 4x400 relay, with Christiansen achieving historic wins in 100, 4x100 and 4x200 for Southeast Polk; Adel-Desoto-Minburn’s Mueller sweeps 1,600 and 3,200, with Akok prevailing in 800 and anchoring victorious 1,600 sprint medley for Ames

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

TJ Tomlyanovich tackled a tough triple in tremendous fashion, topped off by a record-setting performance from Cedar Falls in the 4x400-meter relay Thursday at the 111th Drake Relays presented by Xtream.

Titus Christiansen carried Southeast Polk to sprint supremacy at Jim Duncan Track in Des Moines, Iowa.

Aniey Akok answered the challenge for Ames twice to produce a pair of titles.

And Adel-Desoto-Minburn senior Nate Mueller achieved an outstanding distance double, following former Central Lyon standout Gable Sieperda in winning both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter championships in the same year.

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Tomlyanovich won the 400 meters in 48.11 in only the second year of the event’s existence, produced a 1:54.81 anchor split on the victorious 4x800 relay that clocked 7:53.37 to guide Cedar Falls to its first title since 2016, and propelled the Tigers to a meet-record 3:16.67 in the 4x400 to close out the competition, eclipsing the standard of 3:17.44 achieved by Waukee in the 2019 prelims.

It marked the first 4x400 championship since 2008 for Cedar Falls, which had Will Eastman and Alex Mujica join Tomlyanovich on both victorious relays. Jack Jorgensen contributed to the 4x800 title and Joel Burris was part of the memorable 4x400 lineup for the Tigers.

Since the only prelims held in any relay Thursday came in the 4x100, as a result of the compressed schedule that had all high school events completed in one day, the championship performance by Cedar Falls was the fastest recorded at the meet since West Des Moines Valley ran 3:17.77 in 2006.

Christiansen, a junior, ran a wind-legal 10.94 to secure victory in the 100-meter dash, then joined Joel Hackbarth, Xavier Nwankpa and Caleb LeClair in edging West Des Moines Valley by a 42.39 to 42.43 margin in the 4x100 and 1:28.36 to 1:28.55 to capture the 4x200 crown.

The 100 championship was the first for Southeast Polk since the event was added to the meet’s high school schedule in 1943. The 4x200 title was the first for the Rams since it became part of the schedule in 1911 and the 4x100 victory gave Southeast Polk its first championship flag in the event since it was added to the event in 1924.

Akok anchored Ames to victory in the 1,600 sprint medley with a 1:55.25 final 800 to rally past Iowa City and triumph in 3:32.03, securing the first title for the Little Cyclones in the event since 1989.

Akok returned to again produce a come-from-behind win in the 800, patiently waiting to make his move in the final 300 after Tony Schmitz of Pella established an aggressive pace on the opening lap. Akok covered the final lap in 56.70 to emerge victorious in 1:56.01, ahead of Atlantic’s Craig Alan Becker (1:56.51) and Schmitz (1:57.18), capturing the first title in the event for Ames.

Mueller led from wire to wire in the 3,200 to clock 9:09.88 and gained the advantage at the midway point of 1,600 on his way to producing a two-second victory in 4:18.54, securing the first championships in both races for Adel-Desoto-Minburn.

Drew Bartels achieved a pair of wins for Cedar Rapids Kennedy and just missed a third title in a thrilling long jump competition.

Bartels clocked 14.40 in the 110-meter hurdles and teamed with fellow seniors Reid Pakkebier, Max White and Brody Lovell to win the 4x110 shuttle hurdle relay in 57.95.

Odebolt-Arthur-Battle Creek-Ida Grove senior Cooper DeJean won the long jump with a sixth-round leap of 22-11.25 (6.99m), barely edging Charles City junior Ian Collins at 22-11 (6.98m), along with Bartels and his second-round effort of 22-9.50 (6.94m). Collins won the high jump with a third-attempt clearance at 6-7 (2.00m).

The highlight in the field events came from Woodbine senior Layne Pryor who unleashed a 185-foot performance (56.38m) in the fifth round of the discus, after Linn-Mar junior McKade Jelinek produced a second-round mark of 178-9 (54.48m).

Pella senior Kody Huisman, third in the discus at 177-5 (54.07m), won the shot put with a sixth-round effort of 58-7 (17.85m), improving on his personal best by more than seven feet.

Boone senior Tegan Bock prevailed in the 400 hurdles in 53.70, with Waukee senior Evan Correll clocking 51.96 in the wheelchair 400, an event making its debut appearance at the Drake Relays.