The Riverhawk girls’ track team sent their 4x100m team to Drake Relays this past Saturday to test their legs at Iowa’s most prestigious track meet.
Savannah Davis (‘25), Peyton Zilge (‘27), Latasha York (‘27), and Anna Latham (‘27) each ran a 100 meter leg of the relay, with a total time of 51.57 seconds.
For the girls, the road to Blue Oval was bumpy. According to head coach Jim Lee, due to a combination of meet cancellations, timing malfunctions, and injuries, the team’s top four sprinters only had one opportunity to qualify.
Luckily, the girls took the challenges in stride. “They crushed it at Ames to easily qualify for Drake,” said Lee.
In order to qualify for Drake relays, an individual or relay team must reach a certain time during the season to qualify. For the 4×100, the cutoff time is 52.29 seconds. The Riverhawk 4×100 team beat this time with almost a second to spare.
“I was so excited to qualify for Drake Relays my senior year,” said Davis, “You have to truly want it and show just how far you’re willing to go to qualify.”
Zilge said that she was grateful to be able to run this year after being sidelined at Drake the previous year. “Right after we qualified last year I injured my hip, leading me to go along as an alternate,” she said.
The girls competed against the fastest teams in the state at Drake Relays, finishing 71st of 96 teams. They ran a total of 400 meters in a time of 51.57 seconds, which was their second-best time of the season.
“I just kept repeating myself to get the baton to Anna and everything was going to be okay,” said Davis, the first leg of the relay.
According to Latham, one of the things the team focused on most was handoffs. “We practice them all the time,” she said. “It definitely helps us get faster.”
“When I am running, all I ever tell myself is ‘go,’” said Zilge. “I try not to think much because I don’t want to question my ability and affect my team with my performance.”
The track team as a whole has state meet goals for the rest of the season. “The biggest goal working towards the end of the season is to qualify as many girls and as many events for the State Meet as we can,” said Lee.
Going forward, the track team will run at the Iowa Alliance Conference Meet in Fort Dodge and will be hosting a state qualifying meet on May 15th at the Riverhawk track.
