Near-record times ran by ISU track and field at Drake Relays

Kyle Kubiak

The ISU track and field teams kicked off competition for the Drake Relays on Wednesday with the men’s decathlon and the women’s heptathlon.

The Cyclones finished the weekend with four top-10 finishes and four personal records. 

Bree Woelber competed for the women in the heptathlon and Taylor Sanderson started the men’s weekend off in the decathlon.

Woebler ended day one of the heptathlon in 10th place. Sanderson was forced to withdraw from the event after day one when he scratched on his first attempt in the long jump.

Woelber finished ninth overall in the event, setting a personal record in overall total score at 4,746 points. Her final tally ranks third on Iowa State’s all-time list.

Day two of competition started off on the right foot for the Cyclones with the women’s 4×1600-meter relay squad posting the fastest time in program history, but coming in second to Washington. As the anchor leg, Crystal Nelson crossed the line in 19:13:62 with the other members of the relay consisting of Bethanie Brown, Ejiro Okoro, Katy Moen.

In the women’s 5,000 meter run, Taylor McDowell grabbed a personal record with a time of 16:51.99. That marked the first time she broke the 17-minute barrier in the event.

Joe Gioielli finished in 8th place for the men’s 800 meter dash with a time of 1:56.84.

The third day of competition on the blue oval marked an historic day for Iowa State track and field.

The women’s 4×400-meter relay team notched the second-fastest time in program history with a time of 3:36.39, just .17 seconds off the all-time mark. The team of Kendra White, Ese Okoro, Dana Christensen and Krista Shoeman took second in their heat.

Kelly McCoy finished fifth overall in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 9.25 inches. That jump placed her in fifth place on Iowa State’s all time-list.

Mark Johnson matched his career best in the long jump with a mark of 23 feet, 4.75 inches. The jump earned him 14th place overall.

Ryan Sander notched his fastest performance of the season in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.35. The mark earned Sander 12th place overall.

Colleen Riley ran the fastest time in ISU women’s steeplechase history with a time of 10:33.32. The time earned Riley a 10th-place finish.

In Cameron Ostrowski’s first outdoor meet of the 2014 season, he earned a fourth-place finish in the high jump with a leap of 7 feet, 1 inch.

The women’s 4×400-meter relay squad of Kendra White, Ese Okoro, Dana Christensen and Krista Shoeman finished their weekend in 6th place in the finals, posting a time of 3:36.81.

The women’s distance medley relay squad of Maggie Gannon, Britney Williams, Ejiro Okoro and Samantha Bluske took third overall. The team crossed the line at 11:19.29, which marked the third-fasted time in ISU history.

On the men’s side of the distance medley relay, the Cyclones took fourth place with a time of 9:46.07. The squad included All-American Edward Kemboi, Derek Jones, Brandon Barnes and Mohamed Hrezi.

Henry Kelley, a Waukee native, placed 9th overall in the hammer throw with a toss of 179’04”. Jan Jeuschede earned a 9th-place finish as well in the shot put with a toss of 57’00.25”.

The Cyclones will be back in action next weekend in Iowa City for the Musco Twilight Relays on May 2 and 3.