By PJ Becker, UNI Athletics
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The eyes of the track and field world will fall on the Des Moines metro area this week with UNI athletes set to compete at the 115th running of the historic Drake Relays at Drake Stadium, as well as the Kip Janvrin Open, hosted by Simpson College in nearby Indianola.
Competition for the Drake Relays will begin with the heptathlon and decathlon on Wednesday and Thursday, and run through Saturday afternoon in the state capital city. The full Drake Relays schedule can be found HERE.
Live broadcast coverage of the Drake Relays can be found on Mediacom’s MC22, as well as RunnerSpace.com, plus CBS Sports Network from 2 to 4 p.m. CT on Saturday.
Action at Simpson’s Buxton Stadium will get underway at 4 p.m. CT on Friday afternoon and resume on Saturday at 10 a.m. CT.
The Panthers return to Iowa after a successful weekend in both California and Indiana. At the Bryan Clay Invitational on the west coast Emma Hoins, the reigning Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Women’s Track Athlete of the Week, set a new school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and also cracked the top-five in team history in the mile. Drake Hanson, who was named the MVC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week on Tuesday, lowered his career-best time in the 800 meters to 1:47.90, the second-fastest mark in team history.
At the Gibson Invitational at Indiana State, Northern Iowa picked up three event wins with Justice Miller setting a new career-best mark in the men’s javelin of 65.30 meters, while Katie Fare captured the women’s shot put invitational crown with a season-best 16.71-meter throw. Hunter Manock won the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a career-best 14.07 second time, as Brendan Safley also set a new career outdoor best in the pole vault (5.38m).
Entering this week’s competitions, UNI athletes currently lead the MVC in seven events:
Men’s 110m Hurdles | Hunter Manock – 14.07
Men’s 800m | Drake Hanson – 1:47.90
Men’s Shot Put | Carson Lienau – 18.66m
Men’s Javelin | Justice Miller – 65.30m
Women’s 3,000m Steeplechase | Emma Hoins – 10:15.39
Women’s Shot Put | Katie Fare – 16.71m
Women’s Heptathlon | Joey Perry – 4,873 pts
SCHEDULE
UNI track & field at Drake Relays
Apr. 23-26, 2025
Drake Stadium | Des Moines, Iowa
Meet Schedule
WATCH (CBS Sports Network / MC22 / RunnerSpace.com)
UNI track & field at Kip Janvrin Open
Apr. 25-26, 2025
Buxton Stadium | Indianola, Iowa
4 p.m. / 10 a.m. CT
LIVE RESULTS