The Drake Relays is taking the pole vault back to a West Des Moines mall and the competition will include coed teams. Derek Miles is the the top ranked vaultor in the U.S. and he will be part of an event at the Jordan Creek Town Center on April 26th that will feature five teams of one man and one woman with the combined score to determine he winner.
Miles says he has seen this done before, but has not participated in them. He says it’s a “really cool idea” as he says people like to see a score and more of a competition. Miles will also take part in the pole vault competition in the stadium on Saturday, April 30th.
Miles says athletes always like to have opportunities, and he says having this in a different venue gives them exposure to more people.
Miles says he enjoys competing at both venues, as he says it seems like the energy level is really high in the mall.
Relays director Brian Brown says it will be the third time they have held a pole vault competition in the mall. He says they have 5 of the top 10 jumpers on the men’s side and a 5 of the top 10 on the women’s side. Brown says they have paired the top five men with the reverse order top five of the women.