The Iowa State women’s track and field team has now brought “PR CITY!” to the Drake Relays.

After setting 14 personal records last weekend and inspiring Iowa State assistant coach Andrea Grove-McDonough’s tweet regarding the recent improvements, the Cyclones picked up right where they left off with three of their four athletes recording personal-best performances on Thursday, the second day of the Relays.

The versatile multi-event athlete Emma Whigham led off for Iowa State with a career-high 5,200 points in the heptathlon, which placed her third overall in the event.

Her new personal high ranks third in the Iowa State record books. 

While redshirt junior Bethanie Brown was unable to defend her title in the 5,000-meter run, she still managed to post a season-best time, 16 minutes and 26.72 seconds, finishing 12th overall.

She also believes, had she gotten a second chance at the race and not spent much of the first third of the race at the very back of the pack, the outcome would have been different.

“I definitely started out too conservatively,” Brown said. “I just didn’t want to go out too hard and, you know, die, because I’ve had a couple of races where that sort of happens. I was trying to be conservative but definitely felt really good. Even toward the end, I was pushing pretty hard, but I got done with the race and I didn’t feel like I went to the well.”

Brown has confidence now heading into Big 12s, not only because she improved her previous 5,000-meter time by more than 12 seconds, but also because she knows there’s more in the tank.

“I always like when I have a race I feel strong in because then I can leave feeling confident that my training’s going well,” Brown said. “It felt a lot easier than 16:39 felt a few weeks ago, so that’s a good sign.”

Brown’s teammate, sophomore Megan Schott, ran nearly a minute and a half faster than her previous-best time in the 5,000, placing 23rd in 17:01.64.

In her 5,000 debut, freshman Gwynne Wright finished 17:17.12, finishing 26th overall.

Junior All-American Jhoanmy Luque and senior Allanah McCorkle will kick off competition for the Cyclones on Friday, with both scheduled to compete in the long jump at 10 a.m.