MANHATTAN, Kan. – With a little over two weeks until the Big 12 Championship, athletes on the Kansas State track and field team will look to bolster their résumés as they head to Des Moines, Iowa, for the 108th edition of the historic Drake Relays beginning on Thursday.

The team will also send a handful of athletes to compete at the Kip Janvrin Open, hosted by Simpson College at Buxton Stadium in Indianola, Iowa.

“The weather does not look ideal, but this will be a great competition for us,” Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto said. “They do a wonderful job of putting this meet on. We are running a lot of relays this week, many of which we do not get the opportunity to run very often. The middle-distance athletes will have fun as they will be very competitive in many of the relays. It is just a great event.”

The Wildcats will be making their first trip to Des Moines for the historic meet in three seasons, having not competed at the Drake Relays since 2014. Former Wildcat Sara Savatovic recorded the team’s only win at that meet, recording an event-best toss of 60.53m/198-07.00 in the hammer throw.

The women’s DMR squad, which consisted of current Wildcat Marija Stambolic and former Wildcats Erica Twiss, Sonia Gaskin and Mary Frances Donnelly, also left a mark on K-State history at the 2014 meet, taking seventh in the race with a time of 11:33.01. The time is still the sixth-fastest DMR run in program history.

Thursday’s competition is slated to begin at 6 p.m. with the women’s unseeded 800-meter run, while Friday’s action will begin at 9:32 a.m. with the 100-meter hurdles prelims. Saturday’s competition is expected to begin at 9:00 a.m. with the women’s hammer throw and men’s discus throw.

More information on this season’s Drake Relays, including a complete schedule and start lists, can be found on the meet’s homepage here. Live results will also be provided throughout the entire meet and can be found here.

The contingent heading to the Kip Janvrin Open, made up of 11 student-athletes, will open up competition at 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon. More information on the meet can be found here.

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