DES MOINES – One thing is for sure every year at the Drake Relays – they never disappoint.

Every year at the Relays records are broken, top world marks are achieved and great competitions are seen in runs, jumps and throws.

This year’s 99th annual Drake Relays were no different – six Drake Relays records were set and one was tied.

Perhaps the biggest story of the weekend was the return of Lolo Jones – the world class sprinter and former Des Moines Roosevelt prep who comes back once a year to compete at her “home” meet.

“It’s exciting to be back,” Jones said. “It’s a great opportunity for people to see me run who don’t get the chance to. I run most of my meets in Germany, Spain and France. It’s nice that people here can see me run at top speed. It’s always great to come back. You never get tired of home. That’s a great, warm feeling.”

Jones won the 100-meter hurdle-special invite, in a time of 12.74 seconds, setting a new Drake Relays record and besting her old mark of 12.93, which she ran in 1995.

Jones wasn’t the only professional who had high remarks about the Drake Relays.

Allen Johnson, three time Olympian and gold medalist, made his first trip to the Drake Relays and regrets not getting there sooner.

“When I first came in I went straight to the indoor warm-up area, so I really didn’t get a feel for the crowd, but right when I came out I saw that the stands were packed, and all of a sudden a really good feeling came over my whole body – that’s no exaggeration or anything,” Johnson said. “Looking back on it – I wish I would have come here before now. I mean, even though the weather was chilly for me, out there on the track with the crowd – It was a really great experience and I kind of wish I could go back out there and do it again.”

Johnson finished fifth in the 110-meter hurdles-special.

The hurdlers were not the only ones to enjoy themselves at the Relays. The pole vaulters also had an interesting weekend.

On Thursday, they competed inside the Jordan Creek Mall and then brought the competition to the stadium on Saturday. Special Invitational Champion Derek Miles cleared the bar at 18 feet, 4.75 inches to claim victory in the windy conditions on Saturday.

“You know, it’s funny – for a state that doesn’t have the pole vault, it’s rare for someone to really appreciate the sport,” Miles said. “We go to competitions all over the United States and all over the world and there are a few select places where fans really play an integral part of the athlete’s success. And this is one of those locations where everyone gets behind them and you sense the energy from the crowd.

“It’s the same way in the mall and it’s the same way in the stadium. You can’t beat the venue.”

Miles now competes for Nike and is a former University of South Dakota and Division II standout.

The sellout crowd on Saturday marked the 43rd consecutive sellout for the Saturday session of the Drake Relays, which is the longest streak in the world for track and field.

The sellout crowd got to witness the magic that is the Drake Relays from the professionals, such as Lolo Jones, to the college athletes, such as Baylor’s Bears track team, which took home seven different Relays crowns, all the way down to the high school athletes, which may have had the most exciting race of the day in the girls 1,500-meter run, in which Dowling Catholic’s Betsy Flood nosed out freshman Shelby Houlihan, of Sioux City-east, by a mere .28 seconds.

There are countless more records and close finishes, but one thing is for sure – few of the 14,500 spectators left disappointed.