Leavenworth, Kan.— USM T&F are prepping for a big weekend ahead in Iowa, with athletes competing at the Kip Janvrin Open hosted by the Simpson College Storm in Indianola, Iowa as well as sending Spire athletes to competing in the highly prestigious 116^th annual Drake Relays hosted by Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. The Spires will kick festivities off tomorrow, Thursday, April 23^rd in Des Moines in what will be their final competition before the KCAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships as well as one of their final opportunities before the 2026 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in Asheville, North Carolina.  

Drake Relays—The Drake Relays is a monster event, with teams across the country looking forward to each year. There will be 170 events scheduled throughout the whole 2026 Drake Relays—27 events on Thursday, 78 on Friday, and 59 events on Saturday spread across divisions attracting Olympic medalists, NCAA Champions, Universities/Colleges, Paralympics, and the best of Iowa high school T&F.

Be on the lookout for the Spire men's 4x800 relay team consisting of Marte Hailey, Austin Howell, Owen Dierenfeldt, and Jacson Cruse, Josie Tyrrell in the women's 5K, and Aleksandr Krikov in the men's 10K on Thursday to mark the beginning of the big weekend.

Kip Janvrin Open—The majority of the USM team will be battling in Indianola on Friday, April 25^th, the rest of the USM team will make their presence known at what is traditionally one of the largest T&F meets in the Midwest region, historically featuring more than 1,500+ athletes from over 60 colleges and universities around the nation. A huge opportunity for those few Spires still seeking out their opportunity to compete in the post-season. 

Previous Week T&F Highlights:

A handful of Spires would snag top ten finishes at ESU and Northwestern but a few would make waves and earn themselves national standards, school records, and a chance to compete on the national stage in North Carolina next month.

The women's 4x100m relay with athletes Deslyne Cooper, Haley Sampson, Jordyn Miller-Knuckles, and Keiyah Cole will represent USM on the big stage when they ran a 46.73 final mark at ESU, earning a National NAIA "B" Standard. The Spire women's 4x100m relay team is now ranked No. 3 in KCAC and No. 11 in the NAIA. Haley Sampson would continue her big weekend last week with another NAIA "B" Standard and ticket to nationals in the women's 400m dash with a final time of 55.92 seconds, moving her up to the No. 16 spot in all of NAIA.

Haley and the 4x100m relay team will join teammates Jordyn Miller-Knuckles (100m Hurdles), Tyler Holmes (Long Jump), Deslyne Cooper (400m), Josie Tyrrell (10K), and women's 4x400m relay team (Cooper, Cole, Crabtree, and Sampson) at the Men's and Women's Track & Field National Championships at Karl Straus Track in Asheville, North Carolina on May 20^th through the 22^nd.

Follow along with all things Spire T&F this weekend with live resources on the main men's and women's T&F schedules, or through these live results links:

Drake Relays
Live Results: 2026 Drake Relays

Kip Janvrin Open
Live Results: Kip Janvrin Invite - Apr 24 – 25, 2025 | Black Squirrel Timing
Watch Live (Main Track): Simpson College