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Area shows out at Drake
Friday at the Relays: Stafford wins; Morris and Miller take 2nd, Davidson scoops up 4th
DES MOINES — If there was a day that had a real shot at a Union area championship on the track, it was Friday, as some of the best of the best gave it their all in hopes for statewide glory.
The Union area had four Top-4 finishes at the Drake Relays on Friday, including a first time winner and a couple runners who came just inches away from a title.
Two Union area athletes went at it in the wheelchair 400, and Mid-Prairie’s Jayden Stafford had the pressure on as the favorite to win the whole thing.
“I just gave it all I had,” Stafford said. “That last 100-meters, I gave it everything that was left in my tank.”
When it came down to it, Stafford came through. The Golden Hawks’ sophomore, who finished second in three events at state last season, finished the 400 in 1 minute, 4.06 seconds to win his first-ever Drake Relays title.
“My start wasn't the greatest, but I would say my pushing and breathing technique got better as I went through the race,” Stafford said. “That's what pushed me through it.”
Washington freshman Josh Anderson was right there behind Stafford the whole way. Anderson took fourth, crossing the tape in 1:19.39.
Anderson wasn’t the only Demon to take one lap around the track on Friday. Two-time defending Class 3A 400-meter dash champion Elijah Morris took his shot at a Drake title later in the evening.
Morris, who hasn’t run in a meet for over a month due to a lower body injury, nearly won the race, getting edged at the line by Mount Ayre’s Ryce Reynolds. Instead, he had to settle for a second-place finish, in 48.52 seconds.
“I think I'm back,” Morris said. “I've just got to get back into the shape I'm in.”
Morris says he hopes to get back in the type of shape he needs to be to compete for state titles in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and the 400-meter dash in May.
“I did better than I honestly expected to do,” Morris said. “I think I ran my race pretty well, but it's hard to judge, because I don't know what fitness level I'm at.”
The Union area had a pair of preliminary competitors in the 110-meter high hurdles on Friday morning, and both Columbus’ Triston Miller and Mt. Pleasant’s Will Davidson ran in the finals a couple hours later.
Miller qualified second, in 14.17 seconds, and then took second in the finals with a final time of 14.24 seconds, his best-ever finish in the event.
“This is huge,” Miller said. “I just really be calm and try to enjoy the moment. I just try to absorb it all and enjoy it.”
Davidson qualified fifth, in 14.52 seconds. In the finals, he crossed the line in fourth, a new personal best at the Drake Relays, in a time of 14.52 seconds.
“It was exciting, walking out there,” Davidson said. “All of us are really talented guys. Some of us ran a little cleaner, but it was all really exciting.”
Davidson also took part in the 100-meter dash. He just missed qualifying with a ninth-place time of 10.86 seconds. Columbus’ Kaden Amigon took 19th, in 11.01 seconds, and New London’s Boden Pickle finished 32nd, in 11.45 seconds.
Also taking ninth-place was the Mid-Prairie girls’ 4X200 team. The quartet of Madeline Schrader, Amara Jones, Jovi Evans and Tabitha Evans racked up a Top-10 by finishing the race in 1:44.49.
Friday did see one field event with area competitors in the morning. In the long jump, Winfield-Mount Union’s Cam Buffington was just a couple spots away from earning extra jumps with an 11th-place finish of 20 feet, 10.25 inches. Mid-Prairie’s Cain Brown was 16th, leaping 20 feet, 2.75 inches.
