March 28, 2024

Osceola native Boldon prepares for Drake Relays

DES MOINES — New Drake Relays Director Blake Boldon has kept quite busy the past few months assembling an outstanding field of track and field athletes for the 108th annual event this week at Drake Stadium.

Final preparations are being put to the meet that started with the Beautiful Bulldog Contest Sunday. Track and field events officially began Tuesday with the Grand Blue Mile in downtown Des Moines.

Boldon has made a few minor tweaks to the schedule this year.

“From my perspective as a former athlete, as a former coach, thinking that with some of the best athletes, we want to make sure this is the world’s best track meet,” Boldon said. “People love the Drake Relays, people love track and field. It’s not dramatic changes, but we evaluate all little components of the meet to create the best possible meet.”

The high school girls 3,000-meter race and boys 3,200-meter race have been moved from Thursday afternoon to part of a distance running carnival Thursday night.

“We had the state’s best high school runners in the 3,000 and 3,200 running in the middle of the day in an empty stadium. It meant a couple of things — the student athletes were going to have to miss school and parents would have to miss work to be here,” Boldon said. “We looked a couple simple little things that make a big difference. Moving it after 6 p.m. allows parents, coaches, family, track and field fans here in central Iowa, people who love track and field distance events to be here Thursday night to watch the best high school distance runners, where previously they had to take half a day off work.”

New this year is a session of the high school girls and boys 400-meter hurdles.

That means 16 more athletes — eight girls and eight boys — will be able to compete at the relays.

On Wednesday, the pole vault competition was held at Capital Square in downtown.

The pole vault features marquee names in both the men’s and women’s event.

The women’s event will feature 2016 Olympic silver medalist Sandy Morris, the American record holder in the event, along with 2016 Canadian Olympian Alysha Newman, the Canadian record holder in the event.

The men’s event features four-time United States indoor champion and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Sam Kendricks, ranked second in the world.

“He really emerged in Rio,” Boldon said.

In the Grand Blue Mile, both defending champions were back. Chad Noelle was the men’s winner last year and a two-time Drake Relays champion and 2015 NCAA champion in the 1,500. Heather Camp is a three-time Grand Blue Mile champion and has won the U.S. Road Mile three years in a row.

“She’s definitely a fan favorite,” Boldon said.

Another change is moving the popular college sprint medley relay to Friday evening, moving it from Saturday morning.

“College coaches aren’t comfortable with their best sprinters in the sprint medley competing early in the morning,” Boldon said. “Now they have a chance to compete in prime time. Using the combined knowledge, we’ve improved a fan favorite. We can showcase it in the middle of prime viewing time. It’s the little changes people will take note of.”

In all, there will be 73 Olympians in the field, including 10 gold medalists, 13 silver medalists and nine bronze medalists.

“Some of the best athletes will be here on the blue oval in April,” Boldon said. “You’re going to see dozens of past Olympians, Drake Relays champions.”

Coming off an Olympic year last year, an athlete’s profile is at its highest.

“When someone wins an Olympic gold medal, their value has never been higher in their mind, the public’s mind,” Boldon said.

Drawing an Olympic-caliber athlete is not always easy for the relays.

“It can be a challenge,” Boldon said. “We’re making sure their idea, for their value fits within our budget,” Boldon said.

For some of the athletes who have been around awhile, it may be their last hurrah at Drake.

“It’s an interesting balance between the pride and true long term favorites. There’s lots of people that have been cheering them on since 2005 for a number of athletes. Their days in the sport of track and field are finite. Every athlete has a finite career. Some of them have been coming to Drake Stadium since 2005 and earlier. In 2017, they’ve been around more than once. We see the crowd pay homage, or cheer them on one last time.”

The veterans mix in with recent NCAA stars who are now professional, or those who did not qualify for Rio.

Boldon noted the World Championships are coming to the United States for the first time in 2021, being held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

“They’re looking to make a name for themselves as they start,” Boldon said. “They’re looking at the World Championships this year. Some of these Olympic-level athletes are not only looking at 2020, but the 2017, 2019, 2021 World Championships.”