Tyrese Miller accomplished a lifelong goal on Friday at the Drake Relays.
The Ankeny senior raced to a victory in the boys’ 100-meter dash to earn a coveted white flag.
“It feels awesome,” said Miller. “I’ve worked super hard for this moment all my life. I’m so happy.”
Miller enjoyed it so much that he later captured another Drake Relays title in record-breaking fashion. He won the 400 in 47.91, eclipsing the previous mark by .03 seconds.
“I wanted to go lower, but it’s still pretty fast so I can’t complain,” Miller said.
Miller opened some eyes on Friday morning when he posted the fastest qualifying time of 10.92 during the preliminaries of the 100, overcoming the wet conditions. He had been seeded 15th among the 32 qualifiers.
“It was a pretty fast PR compared to where I came in to today,” Miller said. “It was a big confidence booster.”
On Friday afternoon, Miller returned to the track for the final. The rainy skies cleared up above Drake Stadium, and the Iowa recruit blazed down the blue oval in a time of 10.88 seconds.
Miles Thompson of Cedar Rapids Washington was the runner-up in 10.95. Defending champ Titus Christiansen of Southeast Polk was fifth in 11.11.
“I feel like I’ve been training really hard all winter and summer and preparing for this moment for a long time,” Miller said.
Miller had a little more than two hours to prepare for the 400 final. He grabbed some food, then started focusing on the huge challenge ahead of him.
Miller and Qai Hussey of Spirit Lake were the only two runners among the top eight finishers in the 100 who duplicated that feat in the 400.
“It’s tough (to run both of those races), but I’ve been doing it my whole track career so I’m used to it,” Miller said.
Miller heard the roar of the crowd as he reached the homestretch in the 400. He was not going to be denied.
“It was amazing,” he said of the packed stands. “Coming from last year when it was like a quarter full to this year, it’s a totally different experience. Everyone was cheering, and that really pushed me.”
Miller crossed the finish line more than a half-second ahead of the field. Hussey placed second in 48.56.
It was an even bigger gap between Hussey and third-place finisher Ryce Reynolds of Mount Ayr, who was clocked in 49.72.
“It means so much,” Miller said of winning a second Drake Relays crown.
Now, Miller can set his sights on earning a third title. On Friday night, he anchored the Hawks to the fastest time in the preliminaries of the 4×400 relay.
Miller and his brother, Tyson, teamed up with Jack Belding and Jake Bosch to post a time of 3:23.35. Tyrese ran the final 400 meters in 49.36 to hold off Dubuque Senior’s Matthew Kruse, who crossed the line in 3:23.36.
The 4×400 final will be held on Saturday afternoon.
Earlier, Tyson Miller and Belding helped Ankeny to a fifth-place finish in the 4×200 relay. They combined with Devon Akers and Tyler Sickerson to post a time of 1:29.66.
“I’m pretty happy,” said Tyson Miller. “Our goal was to finish top-five and have good handoffs. I think we succeeded at that. We can improve, but I’m satisfied with it.”
The Ankeny team consisted of three sophomores and a freshman.
“I wish we could have gone a little faster, considering we went a little faster earlier (this season),” Sickerson said. “But we executed the handoffs pretty well, so I’m pretty happy. We have a lot of depth in this relay, and we’ll definitely be back.”
Southeast Polk won the event in 1:28.43.
“We’ll get them at state,” Tyson Miller said.
Ankeny Centennial won the second section of the 4×200 relay in 1:30.01, allowing the Jaguars to place sixth overall. The team was comprised of Alec Schneider, Connor Welsch, Max Snyder and Owen Gates.
“I’m more than happy,” Schneider said. “I’m just happy my teammates ran well, and I’m just really happy that I’m running today. It’s a nice, sunny day, and all I did was just believe in myself and my teammates.
“We just practiced our handoffs beforehand and got all warmed up. I just feel like we felt really good about the race,” he added.
In other events, Ankeny’s Carter Accola placed ninth in the 110 hurdles and Centennial’s Sam Dietz finished 23rd in the shot put.
Accola posted a time of 15.16 in the preliminaries and just missed qualifying for the final. He finished .03 seconds behind Grant Miller of Norwalk, who was the eighth-fastest qualifier in 15.13.
Dietz, meanwhile, recorded a throw of 47 feet 9.25 inches on his second attempt in the preliminaries.
