As Dowling Catholic senior Sam Drexler awaited his turn with the baton, his legs trembled in anticipation.
All week leading up to the 4×200 at the Iowa high school state track meet on Friday, May 22, he and his teammates, Jackson Miller, Nolan Strang and Beau Williams, had been talking about this moment. After taking second at the Drake Relays to rival West Des Moines Valley, they knew they were capable of more. They were counting the days, hours and seconds until they got a chance to compete for a state title.
As Drexler got the baton, it was anybody’s race in the third and final heat. But Drexler edged out Cedar Rapids Prairie (1:26.3) and Valley (1:26.83) by fractions of a second with a time of 1:26.07 to claim the crown. The time marks the third-best all-time in state history, as well as a school record. The victory felt even sweeter because it meant revenge over their rival after the Maroons were denied a Drake Relays title.
“That fueled our hunger, we just wanted this more,” Drexler said. “We’ve been talking all week how much we wanted to get our get back, so this just felt amazing.”
Anytime a relay team is put together, there’s always a collection of personalities that make the unit unique, but the Maroons’ 4×200 team is particularly interesting. The quartet for Dowling is made up of three seniors — Drexler, Strang and Miller. Both Miller and Drexler are coming off of winning state titles in football, adding another trophy to their resume before their high school careers come to a close.
Then there’s Miller, a star freshman who the three seniors showered with praise for fitting into their group and helping them reach new heights.
“He’s a freshman, for him to get the experience is amazing,” Drexler said.
After losing at the Drake Relays and falling short of their own expectations at the district meet, the group had a bitter taste in their mouths. After extensive work on their handoffs and runs for the event, the Maroons ultimately peaked at the right time for one of the best times fans have ever seen in Iowa.
Another race remains for this quartet in the 4×100, with preliminary rounds coming later on Friday and potentially the finals the following afternoon. After such a performance in the 4×200, they’re riding a wave of confidence for the rest of the meet.
“We just have the best guys, we have the best team, we’re so close and we practiced really hard” Strang said. “Our handoffs were perfect, we just knew we were going to come out on top.”
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Dowling Catholic boys bounce back, win 4×200 Iowa state track title
Reporting by Eli McKown, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
