Devan Kipeygo anchored Iowa State’s 4 x 1,600-meter relay to win

DES MOINES — Iowa State runner Devan Kipeygo treated the final straightaway as the batter’s box.

He took a few practice swings in the form of fist pumps. He knew he’d anchored his team’s 4 x 1,600-meter relay team to a stress-free Drake Relays win Friday, so when he crossed the finish line, he pretended to line up a hanging curveball, swinging the baton up triumphantly after serving as the Cyclones’ clean-up hitter.

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“We did plan that yesterday,” Kipyego said of his flag-waving, baseball-based celebration with teammates Quinton Orr, Joash Ruto, and Robin Kwemoi Bera. “And (ISU) coach (Jeremy Sudbury) going down the last 200 (meters), he was like, ‘Go celebrate. Have fun with this.’”

Orr shined as the Cyclones’ starting pitcher, building a three-second lead in the opening leg. Ruto and Bera were stingy in middle relief, giving ISU an expansive enough lead over second-place Drake to allow Kipyego to swing for the fences.

“This week, we looked at it (like), ‘Hey, we’re starting another training block,’” said Orr, a Humboldt native who finished second at the Relays once as a prep, but never clutched a coveted champion’s flag until Friday. “Drake Relays is a lot of fun, like Devan said. We go out there, have a blast, have fun with it (and) kick really hard.”

ISU won the event at the Relays for the ninth time overall but the first time since 2022. But consider Friday’s triumph as more of a spring training game. The Cyclones seek to excel the most in the events that comprise the Drake Relays Cup — the men’s and women’s 4 x 100, 4 x 400, 4 x 800, sprint medley relay, and distance medley relay.

“We’re trying to win (that), so setting the momentum in place and looking to win the rest of the relays,” Orr said. “Starting it off right and getting things rolling is important.”

Bera and Ruto kept Friday’s relay rolling by running much shorter distances than they’re accustomed to traversing. Both are cross-country All-Americans who specialize in the 5,000 and 10,000-meters, so they almost felt like sprinters in the win.

“It’s really good, because when we’re in cross country, we have endurance, so we love some speed also,” Bera said. “It’s good for us to work on speed. We really like it.”

All of them also really like winning, of course — especially Orr, who feels like he’s been a perpetually second-place finisher throughout his career, and not just at Drake.

“In high school, I don’t know exactly how many runner-ups I had, but I had three in cross-country, and I had multiple on the track,” the junior said. “I’ve always had that chip on that shoulder and, man, people love winners. … I’m sure there’ll be pictures of me holding the Drake Relays champion flag. Like, no one’s gonna know what split I ran or how it went. They just see one. So that’s cool and that’s fun.”

Just like Kipyego’s grand-slam post-race theatrics, which fired up the crowd and his team.

“I like the Phillies,” the Warwick, R.I. native said. “So we did a little Bryce Harper.”

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