DES MOINES – The Drake Relays are officially underway for the men and women of the Iowa State track and field team.

In front of 12,298 fans at Drake Stadium – the highest total since the stadium was renovated in 2006 – and on the warmest day at the Relays since 1986, action got started early Friday morning with the men’s and women’s 4×100-meter relays.

The women’s squad struggled in their preliminary heat, only managing a time of 46.47 and failed to qualify for Saturday’s final. The men, however, sneaked into their final with the 8th-best time: 40.85.

Junior Jenna Caffrey ran the first leg in the 4×100-meter event, and also competed in the 100-meter hurdles later in the morning. Caffrey qualified for Saturday’s final with the 4th-best time of 14.29. Senior Eric Parker also qualified for the final in the 110-meter hurdles with at time of 14.53.

The Cyclone men also competed in the 4×1600-meter relay event early Friday, but struggled to a 12th-place finish. Junior Kiel Uhl started the event off for the Cyclones, after being scratched from Thursday’s 5,000-meter run.

Sophomore Luke Pinkelman finished 20th in the shot put competition, with a throw of 17.9 meters.

The women throwers had another solid performance, getting all four competitors into the top 25. Freshman Danielle Frere led the way for the Cyclones with a 12th-place and NCAA Regoinal qualifying mark of 14.59 meters.

Sophomore Tiffanie Synacek did not compete in the high jump as she was previously scheduled to do. The Cyclone women also did not field a 4×400-meter relay team, bringing the total number of scratches to five through the first two days of competition.

Freshman Ian Warner ran a 10.69 in the 100-meter dash, good enough to qualify him for Saturday’s final in the event.