The Drake Relays wrapped up more than two weeks ago but that was only the start of a busy season at a stadium that will host the state high school track meet this week and the NCAA Outdoor Championships beginning June eighth.
Drake Relays director Brian Brown says “there’s no rest for the weary” as they prepare for the high school and NCAA meets after the relays. He says there is a big difference between putting on a meet like the Drake Relays and hosting an event like the NCAA Championships.
Brown says there’s more flexibility with the relays, as they have more participants, but they can make any changes they want because it is their meet. He says any changes for the NCAA meet have to be approved by those officials and they have to be sure they are in compliance.
Drake hosted the NCAA meet back in 2008 and Brown says that is one of the reasons they got it, again. He says they had great attendance then despite the flooding that was going on around Des Moines. Brown says they showed then that they can run an efficient meet and look forward to doing it again.
Hosting one weekend of high school track has given Drake more opportunities to host national meets. He says it opened up more room for the personnel and officials.