Ramsey and Washburn become first pair ever at Drake Relays to produce sub-9 efforts in same boys 3,200 race, with Cunningham delivering fastest women’s 5,000 by an NCAA Division 2 athlete in meet history to edge Chebet; Noe, Olson, Sama, Whalen and Brumbaugh also high school winners

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor/Photos by Lily Dozier

DES MOINES, Iowa – Whether it was the deepest boys high school 3,200-meter race in Iowa history or the fastest performances ever achieved at the meet in the women’s 5,000 meters by athletes from NCAA Division 2, Division 3 and the National Junior College Athletic Association, the distance carnival provided a significant showcase of elite runners at all levels Thursday night at the 112th Drake Relays Presented by Xtream and Powered by Mediacom and Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

Aidan Ramsey of City High in Iowa City set the meet record by running 8 minutes, 58.27 seconds to elevate to the No. 4 all-time outdoor competitor in the state, with Ford Washburn of Dallas Center-Grimes clocking 8:59.60 to ascend to No. 6, marking the first time in meet history that a pair of prep competitors both eclipsed the 9-minute barrier at Drake Stadium.

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Ramsey, who covered the final two laps in 61 and 62 seconds, respectively, eclipsed the 2014 mark of 8:58.46 achieved by Albert Meier of Boone, who ranks No. 5 all-time in the state. Washburn ran a 59.50-second final 400 to ensure his sub-9 effort.

Jackson Heidesch of Dowling Catholic took third in 9:01.29, Hayden Kuhn of Linn-Mar finished fourth in 9:06.04 and Jackson Mace-Maynard of Newton was fifth in 9:06.16.

It marked the first time since Thomas Pollard of Gilbert ran a state-record 8:50.43 and Chandler Austin of Boone clocked 8:51.74 in the 2014 Class 3A state championships that multiple Iowa prep athletes produced sub-9 performances in the same race.

It was also the only race in Iowa high school history with five competitors running under 9:07.

Heidesch entered the race as the state leader at 9:05.80, but actually dropped from No. 8 to No. 9 all-time in Iowa, with Kuhn equaling the No. 11 performance and Mace-Maynard improving to No. 13 in state history.

Lindsay Cunningham of Winona State in Minnesota made a definitive surge in the final 600 meters and held off a late move by Hilda Chebet of Iowa Western Community College to secure victory in the 5,000 in a personal-best 16:05.36.

Cunningham became the first Division 2 female competitor to win the event at Drake Relays since 1980 and produced the fastest time by an athlete representing the division at Drake Stadium. She also improved to the No. 26 performer in division history.

Chebet, representing Kenya, ascended to the No. 2 all-time NJCAA outdoor competitor at 16:07.40, trailing only the 2018 performance of former Iowa Central standout, Israeli Olympian and current New Mexico All-American Adva Cohen, who ran 16:07.03 at the Kansas Relays.

Kassie Parker of Loras College elevated to the No. 4 performer in Division 3 outdoor history, taking third in 16:09.66. Parker boasts the fastest all-time Division 3 indoor 5,000 performance at 15:58.58.

Nicola Jansen of Bradley led until two laps remaining, before finishing in fourth place in 16:14.10.

Paityn Noe of Ballard Community triumphed in the girls 3,000 meters in 9:53.31 in her Drake Relays debut, with Addison Dorenkamp of West Des Moines Valley clocking 9:56.91 to place second.

It marked the sixth consecutive time at the meet that multiple female athletes produced sub-10 performances in the same 3,000 race.

Noe also followed former teammate Shewaye Johnson in capturing the 3,000 title for Ballard Community, which became the first program since Iowa City High in 2002-03 to have multiple athletes capture Drake Relays victories in the event in consecutive years.

Daniel Michalski, a Nike professional athlete, repeated as winner in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase in 8:28.93, following his 8:29.83 effort last year, marking the first time since 2013-14 that a male athlete secured back-to-back victories in the event at Drake Relays.

Michalski elevated to No. 4 in the U.S. and 11th in the world this year to prevail against Gable Sieperda of Iowa State, who ran the fastest time by a collegiate competitor at the meet since 1994 by clocking 8:45.31. 

Lona Latema of Kansas produced a commanding final two laps to achieve a personal-best 10:14.78 to win the women’s 3,000 steeplechase after finishing second March 24 at the 94th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in 10:26.04.

Aubrie Fisher of Wartburg, the reigning NCAA Division 3 champion in the event, ran 10:21.64 to ascend to No. 14 in division history. Fisher captured the title last year in 10:30.46 in Greensboro, N.C.

Leah Hansen of South Dakota State became the first women’s competitor since 1995-96 and only the third female athlete in meet history to win the 10,000 meters in back-to-back years, clocking 34:49.31.

Samuel Martens became the first Grand Valley State male athlete to win any distance event in meet history, improving by 23 seconds from April 8 at the Flames Invitational to win the 10,000 in 29:32.46.

Jeremy Coughler, a Canadian athlete who attended Indiana and now represents Bandits Elite, ran a personal-best 13:46.57 to triumph in the men’s 5,000, with Air Force’s Luke Combs placing second in 13:50.59, followed by teammate Ryan Ioanidis in 13:50.74.

Jadan Brumbaugh, a senior at Mount Pleasant, became the seventh female athlete in meet history to win back-to-back titles in the girls shot put, producing a lifetime-best 47-7 (14.50m) effort in the fourth round to highlight a series that included four marks beyond 47 feet.

Brumbaugh, who won last year at 43-3 (13.18m), elevated to the No. 8 outdoor competitor in state history.

Walker Whalen, a senior at Indianola, improved from fifth place last season to win the boys discus throw with a first-round performance of 191-5 (58.34m). Whalen became the first Indianola male athlete to secure the discus title, leading three competitors surpassing the 180-foot mark.

Abu Sama, a junior at Southeast Polk, just missed the meet record in the boys long jump with a third-round leap of 23-11 (7.28m) to become the first male competitor in program history to win the event at Drake Relays.

Chris Walker of Davenport Central jumped 23-11.75 (7.30m) at Drake Relays in 1984. Walker achieved the state all-time mark of 24-9.50 (7.55m) the same year at the Golden West Invitational in California, before Sama surpassed the standard by jumping 24-10 (7.56m) on April 9 at the Valley Coed Relays.

Maddie Olson, a junior at Sheldon, won the girls high jump with a 5-7 (1.70m) clearance, making her opening five heights on her first opportunity.

Taylor Jochum of Bishop Heelan also cleared 5-7 on her first try, but needed three attempts to clear 5-6 (1.67m), resulting in Olson capturing the title on a tiebreaker to become the first Sheldon female athlete to prevail in the event in meet history.

Concordia-St. Paul of Minnesota swept the women’s heptathlon and men’s decathlon competitions.

Jakob Tordsen elevated to No. 5 in Division 2 this season in the decathlon at 7,145 points, with Arika Robinson ascending to No. 6 in the division this year in the heptathlon with 5,029 points.