Iowa City West boys win second-straight distance medley title at 2024 Drake Relays

Iowa City West boys cemented their name in the history books on Friday by claiming back-to-back titles at the Drake Relays.

The quartet of Todd Rent, Izaiah Loveless, Aidan Jacobsen and Moustafa Tiea become the 10th team in the history of the Drake Relays to win back-to-back titles in the boys distance medley.

“I think it’s a great achievement for us to go back-to-back,” Loveless said. “For all four of us to come back and win again is something special for all four of us, it means a lot.”

The Trojans finished with a time of 3:27.83, ahead of Ankeny (3:28.32), Urbandale (3:31.09), Dowling Catholic (3:31:30) and Waukee (3:33.91).

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The four Trojans hadn't competed together this season heading into the 2024 Drake Relays, due to an early-season injury to Loveless. But their championship experience, coupled with the high-stakes environment at Drake, proved vital at the Blue Oval this year.

“Drake is a great experience, just the feeling knowing that you're out there with the best eight teams in the state, no classes or any of that. We just let the environment bring it out of us. You show up, you know you’re going to run faster. It’s the Blue Oval, you’re racing the best guys in the state,” Jacobsen said. “We didn’t even run this four yet this year, but because of what we did last year, we were confident and knew we could get it done.”

The Trojans finished about a second off their time at last year's event (3:26.67). But the harsh weather conditions, which included rain and heavy wind, didn't stop Iowa City West from adding to its trophy case.

"I like it when it rains here. Last year, during my 400-hurdle race it started to rain, it fired me up," Jacobsen said. "That's part of the Drake experience; you're going to have crappy weather and you just got to deal with it and run fast anyway."

The Trojans were the second-ranked team in the distance medley heading into Friday. They're the first back-to-back champions since Urbandale did it back in 2018 and 2019.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City West boys earn distance medley crown at 2024 Drake Relays