Sports Analysis
Every year, Drake Relays impresses fans with athletes from around the U.S., including Olympians, world record holders and some of the best college athletes in the nation. There are plenty of great athletes to look out for in every sport and at all ages.
Drake Track and Field have been shining this year with standouts at the MVC Indoor Championships, including Emilie Meyer, Brogan Griffin, Lara Smits, Tyla Lumley, Juan Trasobares and Sam Carpenter. Meyer and Lumley became MVC Indoor Champions, with Meyer winning in the 800 meter and Lumley in the 5,000 meter. Meyer also won MVC Track Athlete of the week in early February and set a Drake University school record mile time of 4:42.83, the sixth fastest mile time at the Tyson Invitational.
Drake also had some standouts in its outdoor season opener at Raleigh Relays in Ohio. Drake athletes broke two school records, one again by Meyer in the 1,500 meter with a time of 4:19.51. Lumley also hit a school record in the 10,000 meter with a time of 33:51.78.
Other podium finishes include Griffin and Carpenter, both second-place finishers in the 5,000 meter and men’s weight throw. Smits and Trasobares both finished third.
Some other Drake athletes to look out for include Savannah Ming in sprints, Dylan DeAngelo in mid-distance, Zofia Landowska in long jump and Aidan Palmer in distance running. All these athletes also showed out for the Iowa Open earlier in the season and continue to push the Drake Track and Field team forward.
In the past, Drake has hosted many collegiate athletes from colleges and universities around the country. Last year, numerous popular schools — including Iowa, Iowa State University, Purdue University, University of Minnesota, Air Force Academy, Oklahoma State University, Marquette University, University of Notre Dame, University of Nebraska, University of Michigan, University of Illinois and University of Kentucky — boasted competitors on the Blue Oval. As Drake Track and Field takes on these big competitors, fans will get to see athletes from some of their favorite schools.
In addition to college athletes, Drake Relays Hall of Fame Inductee Ryan Crouser will be returning to Drake Relays, where he will host a new shot put competition: The World Shot Put Series. Crouser is a talented shot put thrower who set the indoor world record with 23.38 meters in 2021 and the outdoor world record in 2023 with a throw of 23.56 meters. He is a three-time Olympic gold medalist and is proud to be coming back to Drake for the 115th Relays.
Crouser will debut the World Shot Put Series at Relays on April 23. In this new event, throwers will need to meet a threshold to stay in the competition as opposed to throwing for the longest distance.
There will be two sections for athletes. The first, “open field,” will feature a mix of top collegiate athletes and professionals. This is meant to give collegiate athletes experience in competing at a higher level and showcase to fans the talent of those athletes compared to professionals.
The second, “professional field,” will feature all professionals, including international throwers. Throwers will get two chances to reach the threshold. After two consecutive misses, the competitor will be eliminated.
Other Olympians who will travel to Des Moines for Relays include Olympic track and field power couple Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall. Tara Davis-Woodhall is an Olympic gold medalist in Long Jump who won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Hunter Woodhall is a Paralympic gold medalist in the Men’s 400 m T62. He also won gold at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. Their love story gained traction during the summer Olympics, and the Woodhalls quickly became American fan favorites.
