Iowa sweeps sprint medley relays, UNI gets 2 Drake champions

DES MOINES — Iowa's Carter Lilly and Mahnee Watts cruised down the backstretch of the track minutes apart and had the same instinct. They looked up.

Lilly and Watts held leads the men's and women's sprint medley relays and both thought to use the large videoboard placed in the open end of Drake Stadium as their rearview mirror.

The glances yielded the same results. Nobody was there.

'It was over,' Lilly said.

Iowa swept the sprint medley relays with the men clocking in at 3:18.53 with a team of Vinnie Saucer, Christian Brissett, Mar'yea Harris and Lilly while the women crossed in 3:52.62 using Lake Kwaza, Elexis Guster, Montayla Holder and Watts. It was the Hawkeyes' second sweep of the event in the last six years.

Lilly won going away with a 1:50 split in his 800 meters anchor leg. Watts collected her second Relays flag in less than 24 hours after taking the 800-meter run Friday with a slightly altered strategy.

'I'm just happy for my teammates because I know they wanted it and I was so scared before the race,' Watts said. 'I was like if I just run smart and execute the race like my coaches told me to then I would have a flag again.'

Watts took her over on the final leg in the lead and instead of entering attack mode, she tried to stay even and fend off potential threats. With 150 meters to go, she engaged the kick she's benefited from in recent weeks.

That win by the Iowa women caught the attention of the men's squad minutes before their race and gave them something else to think about.

'It was motivating because we saw the girls go out in the cold and we were like, 'Now we have to win,'' Brissett said. 'We went out there today, gave it our all and it all worked out.'

Former UNI and Mount Vernon-Lisbon runner Alex Wilson took first in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:06.12). She was recognized as crossing the finish line first, but was not technically given the win since she competed unattached and was a post-college career competitor.

Wilson is gunning for the Olympic Trials this summer and after just her third-ever steeplechase performance, her experience and comfort level is continuing to grow.

'I went through the mile and I was like, 'Oh, I'm actually on pace for low-10. I've got to stay on it,'' Wilson said. 'When you're in front you're always thinking someone is going to catch you.

'You can't let up at all, especially in a distance race because people come out of nowhere in the last lap.'

Northern Iowa's Justin Baker was awarded the hammer title after throwing 64.83 meters, breaking his own school record for the third time this season. Nike's A.G. Kruger bested the field (73.28), but was not given the win given his professional status in a college event.

'I've got to tell myself don't throw against (Kruger), throw against yourself,' Baker said. 'Throw better than what you've thrown before. I was thinking just about building it half a meter at a time so if I threw 64, maybe go 64.5 and then at 64.5 go up to 65 meters and kind of build on yourself.'

The Panthers also got a title with Brandon Carnes, who took first in the men's 100-meter dash in 10.28. Drake's Pierce Vincent and Iowa's Saucer were second and third at 10:46.

Iowa State's Christina Hillman was second in the women's shot put, throwing 59 feet, 1 1/2 inches to lead the Cyclones.