Carder adds to 800-meter sprint medley relay victory for Waukee with 55.45 effort in 400 and Johannes holds off Zondervan and Belding with 400 triumph in 47.67; Damiano and Waukee Northwest girls both elevate to No. 3 in Iowa prep history with 13.84 effort in 110 hurdles and 1:40.46 performance in 4x200

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Photos by Lily Dozier and Ava Kitzi

DES MOINES, Iowa – There were two lengthy weather delays, one early in the day and the other that ultimately concluded Friday’s evening schedule.

But in between threats of thunder, lightning and even a significant tornado warning, high school records fell like rain from the sky for several of Iowa’s top prep athletes at the 114th Drake Relays Presented by Xtream and Powered by Mediacom.

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The two most thrilling 400-meter showdowns in meet history both showcased multiple athletes running faster than the previous all-time marks, in addition to Jaden Damiano of Iowa Falls-Alden lowering the 110-meter hurdles standard twice in the same day and Waukee Northwest High celebrating its third consecutive girls 4x200 victory with another record-setting effort at Drake Stadium.

In addition, Hanson King of Pella and Charlee Morton from Hampton-Dumont-CAL both rallied in the late rounds to secure sweeps of their respective throwing events, with Clear Lake’s Reese Brownlee also coming up clutch on her final two attempts in the long jump to capture her first career Drake Relays crown.

Brownlee, who prevailed in the long jump with back-to-back 18-3.75 (5.58m) efforts in the fifth and sixth rounds just before competition was halted in the morning session by the first of two weather-related stoppages, was also part of the fastest girls 400 matchup in meet history.

Anjelena Carder, who teamed with Lena Bruening, Gentry Williams and Jana Maharry to help Waukee win the 800-meter sprint medley relay for the first time since 2016 with a 1:46.53 effort during the morning session, returned late in the afternoon to hold off Brownlee in the 400 by a 55.45 to 55.93 margin.

Both competitors were well under the previous all-time mark of 56.15 achieved in 2022 by Gabby Cortez of Cedar Rapids Prairie.

Not to be outdone, the boys 400 highlighted even more depth, with three competitors running faster than the 47.91 performance produced two years ago by Tyrese Miller of Ankeny High.

Jackson Johannes, a senior at Cedar Rapids Prairie, triumphed in 47.67, edging Carlisle senior Braedin Zondervan in 47.72. Jackson Belding of Ankeny took third in 47.83.

Damiano ran a wind-legal 13.84 in the boys 110 hurdles final, elevating to No. 3 in Iowa prep history. The South Dakota commit opened with a 13.98 effort into a strong headwind in the prelims, eclipsing the meet record of 13.99 by Jack Latham from Spirit Lake in 2022.

Freshmen Keziah Caldwell and Ayrissa Robinson joined sophomore Katie Stahl and junior Avery Winter to help Waukee Northwest run the No. 3 all-time mark in Iowa in the girls 4x200 relay by clocking 1:40.46, also eclipsing the 2016 meet record of 1:40.87 achieved by Cedar Rapids Jefferson.

Waukee Northwest joined Des Moines Roosevelt (2011-13) as the only girls programs to win three consecutive 4x200 titles at Drake Relays.

King led through four rounds of the boys shot put final, before competition was halted as a result of the first weather delay of the day, before he returned to the ring to secure victory more than an hour later with a 58-7 (17.85m) effort.

Sam Watts of Linn-Mar mounted a late charge with a 58-0.50 (17.69m) performance in the fifth round, but King held on to become the first prep male athlete to sweep both discus and shot put in the same year since former Mount Vernon standout Tristan Wirfs in 2017.

Morton trailed Reese Goodlet of Pleasant Valley through four rounds in the girls discus competition, before delivering a 141-2 (43.03m) throw in the fifth round to earn a sweep of both events for the second year in a row.

Goodlet was unable to build on her 140-9 (42.90m) mark in the second round, as Morton became only the third prep female competitor in meet history to win both throwing titles in back-to-back years, joining Tipton’s Jamie Kofron (2018-19) and Abby Emsick of Lewis Central (2000-01).

Quentin Nauman, a sophomore at Western Dubuque, won the boys 800 crown in a personal-best 1:52.22.

Tony Anania, a Norwalk junior, was second in 1:53.86.

Ani Wedemeyer from Pleasant Valley, a junior transfer from City High of Iowa City, also ran a lifetime-best in the girls 800 to hold off Keelee Leitzen of Dubuque Hempstead by a 2:09.31 to 2:09.74 margin.

Emma Havighurst, a junior at West Des Moines Valley High, produced identical 14.67 performances in the prelims and final of the girls 100-meter hurdles, both efforts into a headwind, to capture the title after returning from a left ACL injury suffered in June.

Tierney Huss of MOC-Ford Valley edged defending champion Jaidyn Sellers from Panorama by a 12.092 to 12.098 margin in the girls 100-meter dash final.

Logan Fairchild of Ankeny emerged victorious in the boys 100 in a wind-legal 10.62 after teammate Tyler Sickerson was unable to finish the race.

Aiden Flora of Adel-DeSoto-Minburn placed second in 10.75, but also contributed to the Tigers winning the boys 4x200 championship, joining Grant Rychnovsky, Zach Lohmann and Brevin Doll to clock 1:27.34, with Harlan running 1:27.52 to finish second.

Iowa City West High returned the same lineup from last season in the 1,600-meter sprint medley relay and Todd Rent, Izaiah Loveless, Aidan Jacobsen and Moustafa Tiea prevailed again in 3:27.83, with state leader Ankeny placing second in 3:28.32.

Tyson Seeser, a junior at Camanche High, needed three attempts to stay alive at 6-5 (1.96m), before clearing 6-8 (2.03m) on his first opportunity to secure victory in the boys high jump final.

Idris Thomas of Davenport West hadn’t missed through 6-7 (2.01m), before three unsuccessful tries at 6-8.

The 4x400-meter relay prelims, scheduled for Friday night, were postponed until Saturday and will be contested as timed finals.