DES MOINES — Ames-area high school girls and boys track and field runners had a productive final day at the Drake Relays on April 25 at Drake Stadium.
Ames placed in four different events during the final day.
“Really positive Relays from our whole squad,” said Ames coach Erica Lynn-Douglas. “Lots of season and personal bests, a new school record and many top performances. A great weekend to check where we are at and where we need to focus to finish a strong season. We picked up a lot of momentum this weekend.”
Here are the Ames-area athletes who stood out on the final day of the Relays.
Angelica Attinger and TJ Douglas shine in the 400 hurdles
Ames seniors Angelica Attinger and TJ Douglas both medaled in the 400-meter hurdles during Drake on April 25.
Attinger ran the opening heat of the girls 400 hurdles. She won in one minute, 2.43 seconds, and that time was fast enough to outlast all but one runner in the second heat to give her a silver medal.
She did so despite limited time running the event during the season.
“I only had two races before this, and I didn’t feel very prepared,” said Attinger. “Because I haven’t raced a lot of those girls before it kind of gave me a new perspective. I felt more confident in myself and I think that helped push me throughout the race.”
Attinger placed fourth in the 400 hurdles at Drake last season, and she ended up taking second at state in Class 4A during the 2025 season. She is hoping to build off her Drake performance to make a run at a state title in her final trip to the blue oval as a high school athlete in a few weeks.
“I think our training is structured so that we do try and peak at state,” Attinger said. “Although it is nice to win big meets like this, state is the ultimate goal.”
Douglas ran an outstanding time of 52.66 in the boys 400 hurdles. He had the ninth-fastest time in the state going into the Relays according to Varsity Bound, but he raised the bar in a big way on the blue oval.
Douglas cut 1.31 seconds off his peak time entering the meet to put himself in position to make a run at the event title. He ended up trailing only Waukee’s Jayden Jeter, who placed first overall in 52.25, and Bettendorf’s Gage Tucker, who won the first heat in 52.60.
“TJ ran great, especially from Lane 1,” Lynn-Douglas said. “He’s been on track to run a 52 and it was great to see it all come together. He’s really just getting started on his senior season. Lots of opportunities ahead.”
Brenna Van Cleave placed 14th in the girls 400 hurdles for Ames with a time of 1:05.55.
Gilbert boys finish third in the 4×100
The Gilbert boys 4×100 relay team made a statement by earning a bronze medal at Drake.
The Tigers returned two runners from their 2025 3A state championship 4×100 team in Paul Marpe and Gabe Fierce. But how they were going to replace talented runners in leadoff man Braydon Howard and anchor Will Hawthorne was a big question mark.
That question was answered in a big way at Drake. Aidan Rash was excellent in the leadoff spot and South Hamilton transfer Tanner Twedt was brilliant closing things out for the Tigers.
Gilbert ran a 41.456 in the finals to just lose out to Cedar Rapids Prairie’s 41.454 for the runner-up spot behind Dowling Catholic’s 41.34.
“We need to give a shoutout to our coach (Nathan Graham),” said Fierce. “It’s the same training, we’ve just been blessed by with the ability to run.”
The Tigers’ time broke the school record of 41.76 they just ran in the prelims earlier in the day.
“Honestly, we’re in a great place right now,” said Rash. “Two, three weeks before state and we’re dropping down crazy times.”
Brandon Johnson places fourth in the boys discus
Brandon Johnson only had one throw that counted during the boys discus at Drake on April 25.
But it was a doozy.
Johnson provided the highlight performance by the Ames boys track and field program at Drake with his fourth-place throw of 173 feet, four inches in the boys discus.
Johnson scratched on his next five throws — the final two of the second flight and all three in the championship round. But that opening toss, a career-best, was good enough to put him in first place after the first two flights and it held up well enough in the finals to earn him a spot in the top four.
“You only need one,” said Johnson. “One is going to get you where you need to go.”
Johnson entered his senior season of track and field having only thrown the discus once as a freshman. But the UNI football recruit had gained a lot of size and strength since then.
“I just got big,” Johnson said. “They kind of needed me, so Coach convinced me.”
Johnson is hoping to build momentum off his peak throw at break. If he can find some consistency so more of his throws stay in bounds, Johnson could make a lot of noise in the 4A competition at state in a few weeks.
“I know I can do better…I know I will do better,” Johnson said. “I scratch a lot in practice, and it gets to the meet, so I’m going to keep working in practice. I know I have more in me.”
Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s Jackson Rhinehart won the event with a throw of 176-5.
Area distance runners perform well on final day of the Relays
Gilbert junior Logan Bleich ran a top-five time in the boys elite mile on April 25.
Bleich took fourth with a time of 4:09.62. Western Dubuque’s Quentin Nauman won in 4:05.18, Sioux City North’s Kuma Gutema was second in 4:07.12 and Pella’s Canaan Dunham took third in 4:08.74.
Bleich also took sixth in the boys 3,200 on April 23 with a time of 9:07.05.
The Ames girls 4×800 relay team placed seventh and set a new school record.
The Little Cyclone team of Leah Kincaid, Van Cleave, Naya Nakama and Emma Stanley clocked in at 9:20.10. Stanely also ran in the girls elite mile, finishing the race in 5:13.35 to place ninth.
Ballard’s Jace Ortner finished eighth in the boys 800 on April 24 with a time of 49.40.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: How Ames-area athletes fared on the final day of the Drake Relays
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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