Men Finish Fourth at Drake Relays

DES MOINES, Iowa – Backed by the second-fastest distance medley relay in Air Force Outdoor history, members of the men's track team finished fourth in the Relay Cup standings of the prestigious Drake Relays, which wrapped up its 111th year of competition this afternoon (April 24) in Des Moines.

The DMR quartet of freshman Cole Lindhorst, senior Luke Zuluaga, junior Garrett Blenkush and sophomore Sam Gilman combined for a time of 9:42.70 – the second-fastest race in program history – to finish second in 13-team Jim Wheelock DMR event. Backed by a late push on the 1600-meter leg from Gilman – who set the Academy's 1500-meter record on the Blue Oval last night, the men finished less than a second behind the eventual meet winner.

Zuluaga returned to the track less than three hours later to lead off the 4x400-meter relay that secured the Falcons' fourth-place finish in the Relay Cup standings. With Zuluaga and teammate Zachary Dicken bookending a pair of juniors – Wyatt Murphy, Sean Geither – the Falcons posted a time of 3:10.63. Combining for their second-fastest time of the season, the quartet finished fifth in the overall field.

After scoring in all three of their contested relays over the last two days, the men tied for fourth in the Relay Cup standings. With 15 points (eight in the distance medley relay, four in the 4x400-meter relay, three in yesterday's 4x800-meter relay), Air Force tied with North Dakota State in the 12-team field – a placement that equaled the program's highest finish ever at the Drake Relays (2016, 2019).

On the infield, sophomore Jaret Prete debuted in 10th on the program's all-time standings in the hammer throw after recording a career-best throw of 191'5", while junior LaShawn Taylor earned runner-up honors in the triple jump (47'6¼") and classmate Jake Hall finsihed within the top-half of the field in the high jump (eighth, 6'8").

In the only women's event on Saturday, the distance medley relay quartet of sophomore Stephanie Gregersen, junior Michelle Roca, junior Brid O'Connell and senior Mahala Norris posted the seventh-fastest outdoor time in program history (11:33.20) to finish sixth in the race and lead Air Force to a 17th-place finish (three points) in the Relay Cup standings.

Air Force heads to California next Saturday (May 1) for the West Coast Relays in Clovis.

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Players Mentioned

Garrett Blenkush

Zachary Dicken

Sean Geither

Sam Gilman

Stephanie Gregersen

Jake Hall

Cole Lindhorst

Wyatt Murphy

Mahala Norris

Brid O'Connell

Jaret Prete

Michelle Roca

Luke Zuluaga

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