Ziebarth Wins Open 1,500 at Drake Relays Again; Hamilton Hurdles To Record

DES MOINES and INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Jake Ziebarth won the open section of the 1,500 and Anika Nettekoven won her heat in the 800 at the Drake Relays as part of a busy weekend for the Creighton Track teams in Iowa. Additionally, Gabe Hamilton shattered CU's record in the 400 hurdles at the Kip Janvrin Open in nearby Indianola.

The action got underway on Thursday on the famed blue oval at Drake Stadium, where Ziebarth won the open section of the 1,500 for the second straight year with a time of 3:50.01 Ziebarth edged Nebraska's Hannes Fahl (3:50.15) to win the race among 12 competitors spread across two heats.

Nettekoven won her heat in the 800 with a time of 2:12.50, which placed her sixth overall among the 20-person field.

Jacob Ludwick closed out CU's visit to the Drake Relays on Saturday with a throw of 58.64 meters to place fourth in the javelin.

Creighton had 33 different entrants on Friday at the Kip Janvrin Open, with Hamilton running the 400 hurdles in 53.87 to smash Logan Piper's previous program record of 54.47 and highlight the festivities. Hamilton was fifth in the race, with Piper (55.22) not far behind in ninth place.

Ziebarth was also in action on Friday in the 800, where he led four Bluejays with a sixth place finish while crossing the finish line in 1:52.70.

Six Bluejays toed the start line in the 1,500, with Noah Jodon placing second in a season-best 3:52.35.

A whopping 141 runners were spread out across five heats in the men's 5,000. Andrew Sauer led the Bluejay contingent with a time of 14:44.61, which was nearly 40 seconds better than his previous best in the event.

Creighton's 4x400 relay team of Kyle Nelson, Piper, Hamilton and Michael Bianco also earned a runner-up finish in 3:23.97.

The Bluejay women were paced by Nettekoven in the 800, as she finished third of 64 entrants in 2:12.03.

Natalee Gehred topped CU in the 200 with a time of 26.05, just .01 off her school record in the event set earlier this season on March 29 at the Central Nebraska Challenge. Gehred's time was good for an 11th place finish.

Saige Christen placed 17th in the 400 with a time of 1:01.64, which was just behind her best time of the spring (1:01.49).

Olivia Olson made some history on Friday, becoming CU's first woman to compete in the 400 hurdles since the track program came back a few years ago. Olson placed 20th in 1:14.11.

Leading a large CU contingent in the 800 was Nettekoven, who took third in the race with a time of 2:12.03. Alex Huddin placed 12th in 2:14.32, cutting more than five seconds off her previous best effort this spring in the event.

Five Bluejay women competed in the 5,000, a quintet paced by an 11th place showing by Taylor Rorick in a time of season-best time of 17:26.88.

CU also had a pair of top-five finishes in the 4x400 relay. Gehred, Carly Manchester, Reyna Heisserer and Huddin were third in 4:06.99 and Christen, Sophia Valentine, Sophia Redler and Bella Gomez placed fifth in 4:17.89.

"We had some really good things this weekend," noted head coach Chris Gannon. "Jake (Ziebarth) winning the open section of the 1500 and Gabe (Hamilton) setting the school record in the 400 hurdles stand out. Beyond those two performances, we had a slew of PRs and season-bests with multiple all-time marks."

"We made good progress from a two weeks ago and Jake and Anika continued their winning ways, with Anika winning both 800's she contested," said assistant coach Matthew Fayers. "The women's middle distance squad was especially strong with Sophia Redler running a a great outdoor debut in 800, Alexis Huddin dropping a big PR in 800 as well and Carly Manchester holding her own in the invite 1500 with one of her best races as a Bluejay."

Creighton is back in action next Saturday at the Musco Twilight in Iowa City, Iowa in its final tune-up before the BIG EAST Championships on May 14-16 in Storrs, Conn.

Drake Relays (Men)				Drake Relays (Women)
1500	Jake Ziebarth	1st	3:50.01	800	Anika Nettekoven	6th	2:12.50
Javelin	Jacob Ludwick	4th	58.64m
				Kip Janvrin Open (Women)
Kip Janvrin Open (Men)				200	Natalee Gehred	11th	26.05
400h	Gabe Hamilton	5th	53.87	400	Saige Christen	17th	1:01.64
400h	Logan Piper	9th	55.22	400h	Olivia Olson	20th	1:14.11
800	Jake Ziebarth	6th	1:52.70	800	Reyna Heisserer	15th	2:15.24
800	Ryan Hendrickson	14th	1:54.50	800	Anika Nettekoven	3rd	2:12.03
800	Kyle Nelson	62nd	2:00.50	800	Alexis Huddin	12th	2:14.32
800	Michael Bianco	31st	1:56.50	800	Sophia Redler	16th	2:16.64
1500	Oliver Annus	34th	3:58.03	800	Sophia Valentine	28th	2:20.73
1500	Tommy Murray	23rd	3:55.56	800	Bella Gomez	48th	2:28.72
1500	Connor Nicholson	69th	4:10.55	1500	Alexis Leone	29th	5:00.75
1500	Cole Haith	44th	3:59.66	5000	Taylor Rorick	11th	17:26.88
1500	Gus Lampe	70th	4:11.55	5000	Sarah Vaske	22nd	17:52.81
1500	Noah Jodon	13th	3:52.35	5000	Scarlett Pearlman	54th	19:04.97
5000	Eli Moore	57th	15:18.30	5000	Molly Rogers	52nd	18:57.71
5000	Andrew Sauer	12th	14:44.61	5000	Madeline Lage	61st	19:33.09
5000	Owen Marett	31st	14:58.71	4x400	Gehred/Manchester/Heisserer/Huddin	3rd	4:06.99
5000	Lucas Bossinger	54th	15:17.42	4x400	Christen/Valentine/Redler/Gomez	5th	4:17.89
5000	Jonathan Lukas	110th	15:59.32
4x400	Nelson/Piper/Hamilton/Bianco	2nd	3:23.97

Ziebarth Wins Open 1,500 at Drake Relays Again; Hamilton Hurdles To Record

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Players Mentioned

Oliver Annus

Michael Bianco

Lucas Bossinger

Saige Christen

Natalee Gehred

Bella Gomez

Cole Haith

Reyna Heisserer

Ryan Hendrickson

Alexis Huddin

Noah Jodon

Madeline Lage

Gus Lampe

Alexis Leone

Jacob Ludwick

Jonathan Lukas

Carly Manchester

Owen Marett

Eli Moore

Tommy Murray

Kyle Nelson

Anika Nettekoven

Connor Nicholson

Olivia Olson

Scarlett Pearlman

Logan Piper

Sophia Redler

Molly Rogers

Taylor Rorick

Andrew Sauer

Sophia Valentine

Sarah Vaske

Jake Ziebarth