DES MOINES – After a fourth-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Drake Relays on Saturday, senior distance runner Jayden Russ walked off the stadium’s blue track for the final time in a Cyclone uniform.

For the Cyclone runner, who joined the team in 2006 out of Brisbane, Australia, the Drake Relays is an event that he will always remember.

“It is something I am definitely going to miss,” Russ said after the race. “Maybe one day I can come back and race here again, but running for Iowa State here the last two years has been really special.”

Apart from being the last chance to run in the meet as a collegiate athlete, this year’s Drake Relay’s held even more significance for Russ personally. For the first time in two years his father, Steve Russ, made the intercontinental trip – from Australia to Des Moines – to see Russ compete one last time at Drake.

“It was really special for me today, because my dad is over visiting and he hasn’t seen me run for two years now,” Russ said. “I am really close with him, so it was great to have him here. I would have liked to have run a little better for him, but I gave it everything.”

Russ’ father witnessed his son attempt to improve upon his 10th-place finish at last year’s Relays, which came after Russ fell on the final lap of the race.

This year’s raced proved to have a slightly different result.

As the race began, he muscled himself to the front of the pack, positioning himself among the top few runners. From the beginning, Russ had a plan for what he wanted to accomplish.

“The first few laps are all about getting into the right position,” said Russ. “My goal was to do as little work as possible to stay at the front and I think I managed to do that really well.”

Each time the leaders threatened to move away from Russ, the Australian was able to close the gap right after coming out of the water hazard.

The critical moment in the race came around lap four. Barnabas Kirui, of Mississippi, who was attempting to defend his title from last year’s Relays, produced a sudden burst of speed, slowly distancing himself from the group.

“Half way through the race you have to be ready for the move, and that’s what happened,” Russ said. “[Kirui] made a move and everyone had to react. I did an OK job at that, but the race is won or lost in the last one thousand.”

As the field began to widen toward the last half of the race, Russ started to struggle. Battling a strong head wind on the backstretch, he slowly fell away from the two front-runners, Kirui and Gilbert Limo, of Texas Tech. Rounding the final turn, the home crowd stood and urged the ISU runner to keep going.

After being passed by Brian Parr, of Nebraska, Russ focused on keeping the rest of the group behind him.

Minnesota runner Ben Puhl closed in, but a last-second push by Russ allowed him to finish fourth.

“I think I’m capable of moving with that bunch of leaders. It’s disappointing, but I just didn’t finish the race off,” said Russ.

Coach Corey Ihmels had positive things to say about how Russ performed over the weekend.

“He ran a great leg for us last night in the 4-by-1600 [relay]. He was a little banged up going into today’s race – with a sore hamstring – but I thought he did a good job,” Ihmels said.

Although he was not satisfied with Saturday’s result, Russ is far from being finished with his senior season.

A return to Drake stadium could be possible if he qualifies for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, but he will have to advance through two major meets in order to get there.

In only a few short weeks, he will run the steeplechase at Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field championships, held in Boulder, Colo., and then it’s on to Nebraska for the NCAA Midwest regional.

Russ, who is already regionally qualified in the steeplechase, said the focus at this point in the season is on keeping himself mentally and physically prepared for the championship stretch of the outdoor season.

“I’ve got to make sure I’m taking care of myself,” Russ said.

“You’ve got to be in top physical condition and mentally be ready to run. I think a couple of weeks of really good training, a little bit of rest – I’m going to be ready to go.”