Iowa State head track coach Steve Lynn will have his hands full on Friday and Saturday when the Cyclones head to Des Moines to compete in the Drake Relays against more than 100 of the nation’s top track squads.

“This meet, next to the NCAA’s, is the biggest meet of the year. The best college athletes in America will be there. It will be televised and Sports Illustrated will be there to cover. It definitely a huge meet,” Lynn said.

Iowa State’s best hope for a title will be Dmitri Drozdov, who will be attempting to capture his fourth steeple chase title in four years.

Drozdov, who has already qualified for the NCAA meet, broke the ISU steeple chase record last week at the Mt. Sac Relays by recording the fastest time in the nation this year at 8:32.5.

“It’s kind of ironic. When he [Drozdov] won it the first time four years ago, it was only his second time he had ever won the race. The irony is that now he is a much better runner, but the field is so stacked. But he will be the favorite to win,” Lynn said.

The Cyclones will also contend for a title in the discus with Tim Wilson.

Wilson threw a career best 187 feet last week and will be throwing against the nation’s top four throwers.

“Tim finished second last week behind a kid from Minnesota, and he’ll be at Drake. Tim will definitely be one of the favorites,” Lynn said.

Yago Lemela-Tobio will contend in both the high jump and the long jump. Lamela-Tobio, a freshman standout, has won many individual titles this season, but has never competed at a meet of this caliber.

“Yago will be up there, but the best jumpers in the country will also be competing,” Lynn said.

The Cyclone sprint teams of the Cyclones will also compete well with Jerry Harris, Jason Woods, Randy Thompson and Frank Nwankpa representing the NCAA’s 13th ranked 4 x 100 meter team .

“Only five teams competing in the 4 x 100 have ran under 40 seconds, and we’re one of those five teams,” Lynn said.

Nwankpa will also run in the 200 meters, while Thompson will compete in the 100 meters.

“Thompson won’t be a favorite, but he’ll stir things up. He’s been running very well lately,” Lynn said.

While the Cyclone team is one of the nation’s best outdoor track squads, a meet of this caliber is still very hard to win.

“You can have a great meet and not win anything. There are so many competitors in the field,” Lynn said. “We’ve won more titles than any team there. We’ve won 28 titles, while Baylor has won 23. So if you win one title, you’ve had a great meet,” Lynn said.