Nodaway Valley sets school record at Drake Relays

DES MOINES — A new school record in the 4x100 relay highlighted Nodaway Valley’s four events at the Drake Relays on Thursday.

The team of Jena Yonker, Annika Nelson, Maddie Fry and Maddax DeVault ran 51.5 in 19th place among 48 qualifying teams. They broke the 2019 record of 51.44.

“We came in as like the 41st fastest time and ended up 19th today, so we ran well,” coach Brett Welsch said. “The thing is, I think we can still get a little faster yet. Our handoffs were good, but we can still improve on some things.”

DeVault had a strong anchor leg in the 4x100 Thursday, and also placed 21st in the 100-meter hurdles in 16.39 after running the anchor leg on the 11th-place shuttle hurdle relay in 1:09.74.

DeVault was preceded by Fry, Natalie Yonker and Nelson in the shuttle hurdle relay.

Fry also competed in the long jump, placing 16th in 16-0.

“I know Maddie was a little disappointed because she had jumped 16-9 1/2 in the meet leading up to Drake,” Welsch said.”But, one thing I’ve noticed about Drake is that often the jumps — both the long jump and high jump — take some getting used to in that venue. Maddie is a sophomore and this was a good experience.”

While DeVault and the Yonker sisters have experience running in Drake Stadium, Welsch said it was valuable experience for younger competitors like Fry and Nelson to get accustomed to the environment just three weeks before the 2021 state meet.

“We probably had some nerves today,” Welsch said, “but if we’re fortunate enough to get back to state with these girls, now they know where to go and how to warm up there. Compared to the competition we were up against at the Drake Relays, we performed fine.”