High School Track And Field Qualifiers Set For Drake Relays

Best of the best gather inside Drake Stadium this week.

Des Moines Christian's Caleb Ten Pas, left, and Western Dubuque's Quentin Nauman compete in the 3A 800 meter final during the 2025 Iowa high school state track and field meet at Drake Stadium on May 24, 2025, in Des Moines. | Lily Smith/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The top Iowa high school boys and girls track and field stars will gather in one spot for the Drake Relays this coming week.

Set for Drake Stadium in Des Moines, the 116th Drake Relays are one of the marquee track and field events held each year in the United States. Along with providing the chance for high schoolers to excel, many of the top college and university athletes, along with professional including former Olympians, will take part in events throughout the week.

The high school portion of the meet takes place April 23-25.

Quentin Nauman Chasing More History On The Track This Week

Among those set for action include Western Dubuque High School’s Quentin Nauman, as the University of Oregon recruit will be looking to make history. Nauman is entered in the elite mile set for Saturday, April 25 with hopes of becoming the first Iowa prep to run a sub-4-minute mile on Iowa soil.

Nauman was named the most outstanding high school boys performer at the 2025 Drake Relays after becoming just the second athlete to ever win three individual titles. He set meet records in the 1,600 and 3,200, tying the mark in the 800.

Earlier this track and field season - and inside Drake Stadium - Norwalk’s Kaiden Kunze recorded the fourth-best long jump leap all-time, going 24-5 at the Jim Duncan Invitational. He will be in action and is ranked second in the state in the 100.

Defending Champions Among Top Returning Athletes Set For Drake Relays

Greyson Hartman, a junior at Cedar Rapids Washington, owns the second-best throw ever in Iowa in the shot put at 67-3.5 while Clear Creek-Amana’s Tay Seals, Abby Mecklenburg from Linn-Mar, Charlee Gall of Cedar Falls and Ottumwa’s Delilah Subsin are just a handful of the others to keep an eye on.

Gall won both the 1,500 and the 3,000 as a freshman a season ago while Subsin claimed the discus title. 

Waukee Northwest is chasing a fifth straight title in the 4x200 relay with sprinters Katie Willits and Keziah Caldwell leading the relay. 

High school events set to be contested are the 100, 400, 800, 1,600, 3,200, 110 hurdles, 400 hurdles, 400 wheelchair, 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, 4x800, shuttle hurdle, high jump, long jump, discus and shot put. The only different between the boys and girls schedule of events is the medley relay, as the boys run the 1,600 and the girls the 800.

Here is a link to the start lists for the high school events at the Drake Relays.