Six area athletes are competing at this week’s 114th Drake Relays at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
Gannon
Murray senior Leksi Gannon will be making a return appearance in the 100m dash. She qualified last year in the same event, and finished 19 overall in the preliminaries of 32 runners.
Gannon is the second female in Murray history to qualify for the Drake Relays. Alumna Kate Patton also qualified in the 100m dash in her junior and senior track seasons, finishing 20th in 2013, and 14th in 2014.
Gannon will run in the 100m dash on April 26.
White
Clarke senior Cole White will be throwing the discus on April 25 as the first male Clarke qualifier in nearly two decades to be going to Drake Stadium. White recently broke a Clarke school record in the discus with a distance of 159-00.50.
4x100m relay team
A team of seniors Ali Henry and Tory Henry, junior Kya Thornton and sophomore Maisy McCoy will be representing the Clarke girls in the 4x100m relay on April 28. Their fastest time so far this season is 52.38
In 2023, the 4x100m team finished with a time of 52.60 at Drake; the team was comprised of McCoy, Thornton, Josey Dunbar and Josie Moore.
In 2022, the 4x100 team comprised of Ali Henry, Tory Henry, Thornton and Dunbar ran a time of 51.86.
Drake Relays
The Drake Relays are directed by Clarke Community School alum Blake Boldon, who broke several school and state records in high school career, including winning the Class 3A state championship in 1998 in the 1600m. Boldon also participated at the Drake Relays several times, and won the 1500m race in 2003 at the collegiate level.
Boldon was named the Director of the Drake Relays in 2017.
Live results of the Relays will be posted online on Drake’s website: https://rb.gy/alqr4q.