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Washington Evening Journal
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Union area bursting with Drake Relays qualifiers
After no season in 2020, large area contingent headed to Des Moines
DES MOINES — The Union area has 25 high school entries qualified for the 2021 Drake Relays, who will compete on Thursday and one college athlete on Saturday.
That’s 26 more than last year when there was zero because the coronavirus disqualified everything including spring sports.
Iowa Wesleyan’s Allison Morris will run the 3000-meter steeplechase Saturday during college competition.
Mid-Prairie’s Danielle Hostetler will kick off Union participation Thursday at 9:13 a.m. with the 3000 followed by Washington’s Lance Sobaski in the 3200 at 9:28 a.m. Hostetler will likely end area events when she starts the 1500 at 2:27 p.m. It is possible that any of three area teams among 48 in the 4x100 relay preliminaries starting at 9:43 a.m. could be one of eight to make the finals at 2:39 p.m.
While tickets to the 111th Drake Relays sold out quickly with only 3,000 available in the 18,000 seat stadium due to COVID-19 safety protocol, fans can watch a live broadcast of the high school action for the first time in history via Mediacom channel MC22 and a livestream on RunnerSpace.com.
Pekin’s Kerrigan Pope and Mid-Prairie’s Tori Boyse will toss the discus starting at 9:30 a.m. while Cooper Pullis of Mt. Pleasant and Carter Allen of New London will put the shot at 10 a.m.
The Union area highlight may be at 10:47 a.m. when Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant do battle in the shuttle hurdle relay. Their qualifying times were five 100ths apart. There are four heats of the race, but the Panthers and Trojans are in the second section together.
At 11:37 a.m. Washington will run the distance medley and just before noon the 400 will start with Mitzi Evans of Mid-Prairie and Elijah Morris of Washington entered.
Cain Brown of Mid-Prairie will start high jumping at 1 p.m. and Allen will move to the discus competition.
Leading all qualifiers, Jadan Brumbaugh of Mt. Pleasant and Boyse will be at the shot put at 1:30 p.m. when Fairfield’s Kelsey Pacha hopes to fly to a record length in the long jump.
Pacha has double duty at that time with the 100 hurdles set for 1:31 p.m. She and Anna Dunlap have the two fastest Fairfield times in history in the event. Mt. Pleasant has two entries with Kenna Lamm and Karsyn Lamm.
At 2:01 p.m., Evans will run 800 meters.
The last event scheduled high school event is the boys 1600 meter relay set to start at 3:07 p.m.
Mid-Prairie’s athletes headed to the 2021 Drake Relays are (left to right) Amara Jones, Alyssa McDowell, Tori Boyse, Amber Swart, and Maddie Edgington. Not pictured: Mitzi Evans and Danielle Hostetler.
New London’s Carter Allen
Pekin’s Kerrigan Pope
Fairfield atheletes qualified for Drake are (front row, left to right) Danielle Breen, Anna Dunlap, Coty Engle, (back row) Hannah Bergren, Kelsey Pacha, Brynley Allison, Mallory Lyon, Maya Lane, Kiya Robertson.
Mt. Pleasant’s Drake Relays qualifiers are (left to right) Josie Gilmore, Bailey Jalas, Karsyn Lamm, Kenna Lamm, Jenna Gilmore, Jadan Brumbaugh and Cooper Pullis. Not pictured: Allie Westercamp. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)
Washington athletes (left to right) Jacob Miller, Ethan Patterson, Wyatt Stout, Cameronb Vonpangya, Elijah Morris and Lance Sobaski participating at the 2021 Drake Relays stand with Coach Steve Roth (orange) who has had athletes qualify for Drake all but two years, no three because of last year’s cancellation, of the 45 years he has coached at Washington.
Mid-Prairie’s Cain Brown
