The Iowa City West boys shuttle hurdle relay team stamped their names into the record book at the 2026 Drake Relays on Saturday, April 26.
The quartet of Ely Smock, Waleed Ibrahim, Cade Towler and Ryder Gorsh combined to race an all-time state record of 55.82 seconds in the finals of the Drake Relays. The Trojans outpaced Cedar Rapids Kennedy (56.17) in second, Ankeny (57.404) in third and Pella (57.407) in fourth.
The record was previously set by Ankeny in 2025 when they finished in 56.06. Saturday marked the first time a squad has ever gone under the 56-second mark in the event in Iowa high school history.
West’s team posted the leading time in the preliminary round at 56.25 seconds in the morning, then went right back to work on what they could improve by watching film of that race. As a result, they returned and shaved over four-tenths of a second in just a couple of hours to set the record and pick up a white champion’s flag.
Smock, Ibrahim, Towler and Gorsh had only run the shuttle hurdles together two times this season before the Drake Relays, but they’ve been together for the last three total years, so this result has been a long time coming for a crew with chemistry deeper than most.
“It’s not a worry,” Smock said. “It doesn’t matter how many times we ran it this year, it’s been a while.”
Off the track, the four are close friends, rooming together on road trips and hanging out outside of school. They also train together routinely, working all offseason on individual hurdles and as a relay team to become the best versions of themselves.
Behind that, the quartet has never false-started or been disqualified in the shuttle hurdle relay. When they’re separated, Ibrahim is quick to point out that they have all had their own missteps in individual events, with ample false starts and disqualifications while racing alone.
While they can struggle as individuals at times, as a team, their chemistry makes the best shuttle hurdle relay team the Iowa high school track and field community has ever seen.
“We became friends, then we became teammates,” Ibrahim said. “I think that chemistry and love is so important when it comes to running a race or running with people, because if you don’t love something, then there’s no dedication to it.”
As a group, this is their first Drake Relays title. Even though the vibes were quite high among the four, they were quick to say there are bigger goals they are setting their sights on in the coming weeks. With three of the four hurdlers being seniors, excluding Towler, they’re focused on securing a state title and improving on their all-time record.
“It’s just Drake,” Ibrahim said. “As much as I love this and I’m happy, we really want that state title too. I think that we all most definitely have the capabilities to do that.”
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: Iowa City West boys shuttle hurdle team wins Drake Relays, set all-time record
Reporting by Eli McKown, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
