DES MOINES — Kenny Bednarek may have been the first Indian Hills track and field athlete to become a Drake Relays champion.
He won't be the last. Five IHCC athletes made sure of that on Saturday.
Damoy Allen became the second Indian Hills runner to bring home a championship flag from Drake, winning the men's college 200-meter dash in 21.23 seconds. Justin Walden, Elijah Berry, Nathan Simons and Kendrick Winfield quickly followed, winning the final men's college race of the 2021 Drake Relays by placing first in the 4x400 relay in 3:12.41.
"We went into this meet knowing that the conditions were going to be less than ideal, so we were focused more on race execution and place than time and marks," Indian Hills head track and field coach Brett Ewing said. "Damoy led from the get-go and had a pretty convincing win. He's such a competitor. Coaching him is a lot of fun."
Allen was pushed in the final heat by freshman teammate Ashton Sanders, who placed fourth in 200 meters in 21.77 seconds. The first-year IHCC sprinter from New York follows in the footsteps of Bednarek, who burst on to the worldwide track and field scene at the 2019 Drake Relays by winning the 200 meter elite invitational in 20.29 seconds, outclassing a field loaded with Olympians.
Ewing feels Allen will only continue to travel the same path as Bednarek, who went right from IHCC to currently running professionally with sights set on someday qualifying for the Summer Olympics.
"Damoy's a kid who's name you're going to hear for quite awhile even after he's done at Indian Hills," Ewing said of Allen.
Walden, Berry, Simmons and Winfield won close battle with Oklahoma Baptist teammates Shirvante Knauls, Jared Cheatwood, Jax Holland and Tarees Rhoden for the 4x400 title. Berry rallied the Warriors from fifth place after the first leg of the race, running a 48.63-second split putting the Warriors in front before 47-second laps from Simons and Winfield helped IHCC clinch a second Drake Relays title on the day.
"That event stood out the most," Ewing said. "When you can close any meet with a win, you're a happy coach. The guys were running for the lead right from the gun and didn't look back once they got it.
"I loved their aggressiveness. It was a really cool moment for them."
Allen nearly picked up a second Drake Relays title, sprinting IHCC to the lead midway through the championship flight of the 4x100 relay finals with a 9.93-second dash. Minnesota State edged back in front on the third leg and held on in a thrilling dash the finish line, edging the Warriors by 0.05 seconds finishing in 40.76. Allen, Kalen Walker, Isiah Thomas and Aurel Tchanbi settled for second for IHCC in the 4x100 in 40.81, almost a half-a-second better than Friday's preliminary time.
"It was just about 30 minutes after that entire squad finished competing in the open 100 and 200 finals," Ewing said. "That squad is super-competitive. We were hoping to get that victory, but fell just short."
Thomas edged Tchanbi in the men's 100-meter final, placing third in 10.67 seconds qualifying second in Friday's prelims. Tehanbi, coming off the posting the top qualifying time on Friday (10.78), finished fourth in Saturday's final in 10.75 seconds.
"We were hoping for a 1-2 sweep, but 3-4 is still pretty impressive," Ewing said.
Kendrick Winfield added a fifth-place finish for the IHCC men in the 400-meter dash, crossing the finish line in 48.52 seconds. Berry was right behind Winfield, giving the Warriors a sixth-place finish in the quarter-mile run in 48.55 seconds while Nathan Simons placed seventh in 48.75.
The Indian Hills women were also represented well at the Drake Relays. Lauren Upmeyer scored the highest finish for the Warrior women, finishing sixth in the javelin with throw that traveled nearly 125 feet, finishing at 124-11 breaking the school record in the event.
Aimaya Drummond, Kyler Brown, Temira Goods and Kahliyah Anderson produced their own top-10 run in the women's portion of the 4x400 relay on Saturday, crossing the finish line seventh in 3:52.45. Destiny Lottie led four IHCC female runners in the women's 200-meter dash, finishing eighth in 25.61 seconds.
"I was really proud to see Destiny step up with two personal bests (the 200 and the 400, finishing 16th in 59.11 seconds). She is an incredibly hard worker," Ewing said. "Kahliyah also had a phenomenal meet, breaking the school's 400-meter record. She now owns the records in the 100, 200 and 400."
Peyton Steva also set a school record for the IHCC women, placing eighth in the 100-meter hurdles finishing the championship race on Saturday in 15-seconds flat after qualifying sixth on Friday in 15.28 seconds. Anderson earned the 400 record for IHCC on Saturday placing 10th in 58.03 seconds.
Former Cardinal High School standout Trey Albert also competed at the Drake Relays, running for the Grand View University men's track team. Besides taking part in the 4x100 and 4x400 races, Albert broke his own school record in the steeplechase finishing the 3,000-meter race 11th in 9:34.32.
