After sharing boys overall championship with Ankeny last year, Johnston wins outright crown; Fast start and strong finish help Cedar Rapids Kennedy secure girls title after not scoring in any of four Relays Cup events last season

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Photos by Ava Kitzi and Lily Dozier

DES MOINES, Iowa – Leave it to twin sisters from Cedar Rapids Kennedy to prevent a pair of High School Relays Cup titles for Johnston at the 113th Drake Relays.

Juniors Addison Swartzendruber and Sidney Swartzendruber rose to the occasion again in the final girls event of the meet Saturday at Jim Duncan Track in Drake Stadium, teaming with Emerson Swearinger and Jovie Veach to prevail in the 4x400-meter relay in 3 minutes, 55.11 seconds.

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Along with Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s victory Friday in the 800-sprint medley relay, with Quren Hullon and Morgan Hospodarsky joining forces with the Swartzendruber twins to run 1:46.10, the Cougars accumulated 20 points after not scoring in any of the four High School Relays Cup events last year.

Johnston had Krissy Spear, Alyx Woodley, Marissa Pewe and Olivia Verde win the 4x800 title Saturday in 9:26.80, along with taking third in the 4x100 final in 49.12 to secure the overall team lead entering the 4x400. But the Dragoons managed only a seventh-place result in 3:59.99 and finished with 18 points.

Waukee Northwest, which defended its 4x200 relay crown Friday in 1:41.33, took third with 15 points.

Johnston won the boys 4x200 on Friday in 1:27.29, which doesn’t factor into the High School Relays Cup Scoring, and placed in the top four in the 4x100, 4x400, 4x800 and 1,600 sprint medley relay events that contribute to crowning a champion, to capture the team title with 27 points.

The Dragoons took second in the 4x100 final in 42.02 and another runner-up finish Saturday in the 4x800 in 7:52.46. 

Iowa City West won the 1,600 sprint medley relay Friday in 3:26.67 and took third in the 4x100 in 42.19 to secure second overall with 16 points.

Ankeny, which shared the High School Relays Cup boys crown last year with Johnston with 17 points apiece, relied on the strength of Bram Van De Mortel, Tyson Miller, Jackson Belding and Jake Bosch winning the 4x400 in 3:19.19, along with a fourth-place effort in the 4x100 in 42.55, to accumulate 15 points.

Although Johnston just missed a pair of team championships Saturday at “America’s Athletic Classic,” there were several athletes earning multiple victories at the meet, including Ames senior Ali Frandsen sweeping both hurdling events.

Frandsen followed her 100 hurdles victory Friday in 14.33 by clocking 1:01.16 in the 400 hurdles Saturday to elevate to No. 9 in Iowa prep history.

Frandsen became the seventh female athlete in Drake Relays history to secure both hurdling championships in the same year.

Ammon Smith, a senior at Iowa City High, followed his 800 win Friday in 1:53.42 by teaming with Truman Thompson, Ayman Noreldaim and Ford Washburn to capture the 4x800 crown in 7:48.83.

Miles Thompson and Michael Blank added a 4x100 victory to their resumes in 41.71 – with Miles Parlet and Noah Johnson also contributing to the No. 3 all-time Iowa prep mark – to support the Cedar Rapids Washington standouts taking the top two spots Friday in the 100-meter final.

Dowling Catholic followed its girls 4x100 shuttle hurdles relay victory last year at the Iowa 4A state final by winning at the Drake Relays for the first time since 2018, clocking 1:03.20.

Olivia Kramer, Alex Gaskell and Ruby Leman returned from that lineup for Dowling Catholic and were joined Saturday by Reese Ervin.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy added a boys 4x110 shuttle hurdles relay victory, its third in the past four editions of the meet and fourth overall, with Cyrus Courtney, Landen Dougherty, and brothers Ryan Bartels and Tyler Bartels edging last year’s winner Pleasant Valley by a 58.64 to 58.66 margin.

Takira Smith, Kim Karnga, Monah Kyne and Jessica Kyne secured the first girls 4x100 title for Des Moines Hoover in meet history in 48.87, despite running the lineup together for only the third time this season, including 48.84 in Saturday’s prelims.

Nicholas Gorsich of Linn-Mar prevailed in the boys 400-meter hurdles in 52.28, with 400 champion Ryce Reynolds of Mount Ayr finishing second in 52.57.

Gabe Nash of Sioux City North capped a meet by placing in the top three of the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, winning the 1,600 in 4:12.30. Chase Lauman of Pella, who won the 3,200 and was second in the 800, added another runner-up performance in 4:12.64.

Noelle Steines, a sophomore at Calamus-Wheatland, clocked a lifetime-best 4:35.22 to triumph in the 1,500 to improve to No. 17 in Iowa prep history., with senior Madison Brouwer of Sibley-Ocheyedan finishing second in 4:36.04.

Steines’ mother, the former Jessica Huff, won the Drake Relays high school 800 title in 1999, clocking 2:14.58 for Marshalltown High.