West Des Moines Valley senior and Alabama commit runs 9:23.69 to eclipse 2014 mark of 9:24.67 by Jenks and secure first career Drake Relays title; Merrick (8:55.14) and Zuber (8:56.68) produce fastest boys 3,200 race in meet history, with Miller winning long jump with opening-round 23-3.75 (7.11m) and King rallying to prevail in discus with 186-7 (56.89m) effort

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Photos by Ava Kitzi and Lily Dozier

DES MOINES, Iowa – Addison Dorenkamp had perhaps the toughest act to follow Thursday night, running the girls 3,000 meters at the 114th Drake Relays Presented by Xtream and Powered by Mediacom following the fastest boys 3,200-meter race in meet history.

But the Alabama-bound senior from West Des Moines Valley High in Iowa upstaged even the exceptional performances of Cedar Falls sophomore Jaden Merrick and Ankeny junior Ethan Zuber, producing the state record by clocking 9 minutes, 23.69 seconds on the prestigious Jim Duncan Track.

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Dorenkamp secured her first Drake Relays title in the most impressive performance during a prep career that includes multiple Iowa state 4A titles, eclipsing the 2014 mark of 9:24.67 held by former Linn-Mar star Stephanie Jenks.

Marissa Ferebee, a sophomore from Pella High in Iowa, placed second in 9:42.89.

With the crowd at Drake Stadium still buzzing following the 3,200 showdown involving Merrick and Zuber that resulted in both competitors running faster than the previous meet record, Dorenkamp achieved the fastest performance in a high school 3,000 race in the country this year.

Only the 3,000 split of 9:22.71 achieved by Isabel Allori from Liberty Common High in Colorado during her 9:58.08 effort in the invitational 3,200 on April 6 at the 56th Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High in California is a better mark than Dorenkamp this season.

Merrick triumphed in a lifetime-best 8:55.14 to hold off Zuber in 8:56.68, smashing the 2022 meet all-time mark of 8:58.27 achieved by Aidan Ramsey from Dallas Center-Grimes High in Iowa.

Ramsey and Ford Washburn from Iowa City High, who ran 8:59.60, were the first pair of athletes in meet history to both run sub-9 in the same 3,200 race.

But Merrick and Zuber continued to challenge each other throughout the race, elevating to the Nos. 4 and 6 competitors in Iowa prep history.

Canaan Dunham of Pella ran 9:04.01 to take third, with fellow sophomore Quentin Nauman from Western Dubuque clocking 9:05.46 to finish fourth. Tony Anania, a junior at Norwalk, placed fifth in 9:07.79 in his Drake Relays debut.

Jack Miller of Jesup High in Iowa, a senior, opened his long jump series with a lifetime-best 23 feet, 3.75 inches (7.11m) and never relinquished control to secure his first Drake Relays crown.

Miller achieved the top three marks of the competition to prevail against T.Y. Pour from Cedar Rapids Prairie and his 22-6.75 (6.87m) performance in the second round.

Hanson King, a senior at Pella High, delivered in the clutch in the boys discus competition, rallying to win with a personal-best effort of 186-7 (56.89m) in the sixth round, leading four athletes surpassing the 180-foot mark.

King trailed Trevor Veenstra from Pella Christian, who grabbed the lead in the fourth round with a 184-8 (56.30m) performance, before improving on his previous-best mark of 185-6 (56.54m) on April 13 at the same venue at the Jim Duncan Invitational.

Charlee Morton, a junior at Hampton-Dumont-CAL, repeated in the girls shot put with a first-round effort of 41-4 (12.60m), following Jadan Brumbaugh of Mount Pleasant in 2021-22 and Jamie Kofron from Tipton in 2018-19 as back-to-back Drake Relays champion.

Lauren Travis, a sophomore at Spirit Lake, placed runner-up with a third-round effort of 41-2.25 (12.55m), with Burlington freshman Kylee Hill achieving a mark of 41-1 (12.52m) and Davenport North sophomore Greta Brus placing fourth at 41 feet (12.50m).

Jaidyn Sellers, a senior at Panorama who won the 100-meter dash and 400 meters last year at the Drake Relays, added the high jump title to her career resume with a second-attempt clearance at 5-7 (1.70m) to edge Sydney Maue from Mount Vernon based on fewer attempts.

Both competitors missed three opportunities at clearing 5-8 (1.73m), allowing Sellers to secure the victory after Maue needed three tries to clear 5-7.