The importance of the Big 12 and NCAA Championships to the ISU men’s and women’s track field teams is obvious. They both mark a chance for athletes to compete at the highest level of competition and bring individual and team hardware back to Ames.

The importance of this weekend’s Drake Relays is different. Not only is it a chance for ISU athletes to compete on a big stage, but there’s an atmosphere of teamwork that comes from a meet highlighted by numerous relay races.

“It’s nice because it’s a big synergistic meet to where you get your team together and you’re working together for a common goal,” said ISU assistant coach Nate Wiens.

Already having a successful season as an individual, junior Betsy Saina will become a teammate on the track as she anchors the 4×1,600-meter relay. The three-time All-American has just recently increased her mileage per week in practice from 60 to 75 miles per week to prepare to run both the 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs at the Big 12 Championships in two weeks. With her endurance work coming during the week, Saina will get a chance to improve her speed this weekend as she tackles a shorter distance than usual.

“It’s my first mile outdoors and I don’t always do shorter distances but doing a mile is really great because it helps my speed, I’m just really excited,” Saina said.

The Relays also mark a chance for many Cyclones to compete in front of fans from their home state. Of the 103 athletes, 43 of the team members attended high school in the state of Iowa and four — sophomore Devin Allbaugh, sophomore Patrick Lewis, junior Danielle Frere and senior Amara Sama — won Drake Relays titles in high school.

Sama starts with the baton for the men’s 4×100-meter relay team, which has thrived this season because of the group’s chemistry.

“This year’s group is the best I’ve ever been with since I’ve been in college,” said senior sprinter Amara Sama. “The biggest thing with us this year is we’re all having fun while working hard, we’re like brothers out there.”

The relay group, which is also comprised of the junior trio of Ian Warner, Bryce Colston, and Clint Martin, eats dinner together at least twice a week and brings their own sense of humor to practice each day.

“They’re four guys that have really bonded well together,” Wiens said of the 4×100 squad. “We’re really looking forward to big things out of them [at Drake].”

A Des Moines East prep, Sama knows what it’s like to have success in the 4×100-meter relay at the Drake Relays, he was a member of the 2007 Des Moines East squad that won the event.

“I’ve been running the blue track since I was a freshman in high school so going back there is like the biggest thing because everybody from my high school coaches to my family and friends are all there,” Sama said. “I’m always excited about this meet because I want to show all of my high school friends how far I’ve made it and all the success that I’ve had.”

The only returning individual Drake Relays champion on the ISU roster from last season is Rico Loy who came up victorious in the men’s 1,500 meter run last year. Loy has been battling Achilles tendinitis throughout the outdoor season and is unsure whether he’ll be able to defend his title on Saturday.

“I’m really going on and off with my Achilles, it’s kind of up in the air but it doesn’t look good right now,” Loy said Thursday. “I’d really rather try and get ready for [the Big 12 Outdoor Championships] in two weeks than for this weekend.”

The timing of this year’s Drake Relays comes only two weekends before the Big 12 Outdoor Championships which means that some athletes, like Loy, may sit out to prevent further injury. However, regardless of who holds the baton this weekend, the Drake Relays will give the Cyclones a final opportunity to prepare against some of the nation’s best collegiate track and field athletes.

“Some events you know you’re going to go out there and have a good shot at winning and if you don’t pull down the W you know you probably left a little on the track but in other events you’re going out there knowing that we may not have the strongest squad but that’s what’s fun about it, you go out there and compete,” Wiens said.

ISU runners will first hit the track Thursday with the women’s 4×1600-meter relay at 4:40 p.m., and then in both the men’s and women’s 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs that begin at 7:30 p.m. as part of the event’s Distance Carnival. Events will continue throughout the day Friday, beginning with the men’s and women’s 4×100-meter relays at 9:32 a.m. and pick back up Saturday beginning with the men’s and women’s sprint medley at 10:15 a.m.