March 28, 2024

Cardinals claim two top-10 finishes at Drake Relays

Jackson Mace-Maynard finishes fourth in 800, anchors 4x800 team to eighth

DES MOINES — Newton junior Jackson Mace-Maynard knew he was good enough to run with the best of the best. He just needed to get into the race to show what he can do.

Mace-Maynard was not an original qualifier for the 800-meter run in the Drake Relays. But after a few drop outs, Mace-Maynard was placed into the field and after his performance on Thursday on the blue oval, all eyes will be on the Class 3A boys 800 at the state meet in a month.

Mace-Maynard used an incredible kick in the final 100 meters to log his first Drake Relays medal as he was fourth overall with a career-best time of 1 minute, 58.45 seconds.

Three of the top four finishers compete in 3A as Atlantic’s Craig Alan Becker (1:56.51) and Pella’s Tony Schmitz (1:58.45) were second and third, respectively.

Ames’ Aniey Akok won the boys 800 in 1:56.01.

“I knew if I could get into this kind of a field, I had what it took to run with the big boys and that’s what I did,” Mace-Maynard said. “My plan was to not go out crazy fast with the leaders and sit back and just know that the last 100 meters is where the 800 is made. I executed exactly how I needed to in the last 150 to move up.”

The Cardinals had a big day at Drake Stadium. They opened the day with an impressive run in the 4x800 relay.

Newton came into the race ranked outside the top 10 but finished in eighth after a huge final kick from Mace-Maynard. Junior Treycen Garton, freshman Cody Klein and junior Derek Beiner put Mace-Maynard into a position where he could do damage and the foursome finished with a career-best time of 8 minutes, 6.2 seconds. That’s around 4 seconds slower than the school record.

Cedar Falls won the 4x800 relay in 7:53.37. Pella (8:04.16) finished fifth and Norwalk (8:06.52) was ninth.

“I felt so good about that,” said Garton, who ran the lead-off leg. “We hadn’t had real competition yet and to be able to go against the best of the best was so much fun. It was a good experience.”

Before Mace-Maynard ran to a fourth-place finish in the 800, junior Keith Moko took part in the high jump. He finished in a three-way tie for 11th with a best leap of 6 feet, 1 inch.

Seven jumpers missed the opening height. Charles City’s Ian Collins won the event with a leap of 6-7. Treynor’s Noah James and Ames’ Tate Zalasky both jumped 6-5 to finish second and third, respectively.

“I didn’t jump as good as I could have. I was hoping for a top-10 finish. I wanted to jump 6-5 and get a PR. It didn’t happen today but we still have districts and state,” Moko said. “My form isn’t perfect. I can add a few inches with just better form. I will keep on working on it.”

The Cardinals had Garton in the third leg for qualifying but went to the traditional order for the Relays. Newton was consistently around 12th or 13th. Mace-Maynard got the Cardinals into the top 10 with an impressive final lap and a career-best 1:56 split.

“It was a cool to watch Jackson kick out that last 100 for us. He’s so good,” Klein said. “That was awesome. The track is awesome. It was a fun experience. I feel like we can knock off some more time. Hopefully we can get that record.”

The biggest asset with this group of four guys, according to Mace-Maynard, is the fact that all four know their limits and they just run the best they can for each other.

“We don’t tell Derek or Cody to run sub-2:00 splits,” Mace-Maynard said. “We all know that if we run our best, we’ll have a good time and a good finish. I told those two to just get me in a position to do some damage and that’s what they did.”

Both Beiner and Klein are dual sporting this spring with soccer. They both start on that squad for the Cardinals, too.

For Beiner, he’s just happy to help a group of friends he grew up with succeed on the track.

“This was an incredible experience. My stomach dropped the minute I stepped onto the track,” Beiner said. “I’m just here to do my part. The team needed me to help get them here so I just tried to do my part and run the best I could.”

Newton’s time of 8:06.2 was easily a season-best time. And it came when handoffs for every leg were congested and full of traffic.

That’s why all four runners believe more best times are on the way.

“It was a little stressful. I’m pretty sure I got cut off right as I was going to hand it off to Cody and I had to throw it at him,” Garton said. “It was super crowded and nerve wracking.”

Klein confirmed that he did indeed have to catch the handoff.

“He had to jump around a guy. It was the worst handoff we’ve had this year,” Klein said.

Beiner had to stop as he was getting the baton because three other runners were around him.

“It was hectic. It was stressful. But I got it,” Beiner said.

Mace-Maynard walked out of Drake Stadium with an Drake Relays medal in the 800. But finishing eighth with his friends was a much better feeling.

“I would take eighth in the 4x800 every single time over fourth in the open 8,” Mace-Maynard said. “As a team, it means more to me. The guys were pumped. Everyone did their part. And a huge shoutout to Cody Klein for stepping into that role as a freshman. That was huge for us.”