Last Friday Clear Lake took a group of kids to Drake University to compete in the Drake Relays, the premiere track and field competition in the country. The Relays showcased the fastest athletes from high school, to college, to future Olympic competitors.
Reese Brownlee, Dylan Litzen and the Lion 4×100 team of Blake Enke, Titan Schmitt, Sam Dodge and Alex Kerr were able to show their skills on the Blue Oval Friday and Saturday.
On Friday Brownlee earned her first ever Drake Relays flag after she dominated the long jump field, an event she holds the school record in, with a leap of 18-3.75.
It wasn’t all roses for the junior from Clear Lake, however, with the rain pouring and the wind not being consistent.
It took judging the wind with help from her coach, and dad, Tony Brownlee, as well as staying mentally tough to outlast her competitors.
“It’s not optimal weather and that’s really when you really have to compete,” said Brownlee. “My dad says in the rain it’s who’s the toughest, no one is going to get lucky in the rain you really have to compete.”
Compete is exactly what Brownlee did.
Her very first jump put her in front of the pack with a leap of 17-11.5, which was seven inches ahead of the second longest jump and 11 inches further than third place.
Brownlee’s second and third jumps came in at 17-11 and 17-10.75. Setting her up for the finals.
Heavy rain and a pause in the action as they waited for two jumpers to return from a relay, caused concern that the athletes waiting would suffer in the finals. Brownlee was the final jumper in the finals.
Brownlee’s first jump was her worst of the morning coming in at 17-7, but it was good enough to lead as the next longest jump was 16-8.5.
Her second and third jumps were identical and her best of the day at 18-3.75.
As the distance was read aloud, her dad pumped his fists in the air and gave his Drake Relay champion daughter a high-five in celebration. The celebration was short lived as the skies opened and Drake went into a weather delay for nearly one hour.
“It wasn’t going super well at the beginning. I had to adjust with the wind, and how cold it was and how my body was not used to running and exploding at these cold temperatures. That’s when the competition mindset prevails and gets you through it,” said Brownlee. “The wind was unpredictable and my dad would tell me to move up three feet or move back three feet and it was a lot of last minute decisions that had to be made for me to be able to jump the way I did today. It was fun.”
Reese later competed in the open 400 meter dash to close out the day. The adrenaline of the long jump victory was still fresh and she was ready to compete.
“There’s no more training I can do, I have to be confident in how I’ve come here and I am,” said Brownlee. “The gifts that God has given me and the power that I have in my mind to be confident and calm no matter what. I could run at nine tonight and I will be ready and try my best.”
Brownlee didn’t have to wait until 9 p.m. to run, luckily, as the Drake Relays were back on schedule in no time after the delay. When it came time for her to run, she ran the best time she has ever ran.
Just after 5 p.m., Brownlee took to the track to run the 400 meter dash against 16 other girls.
The first eight set a time to beat of 56.47 and the second heat of eight saw three girls best that mark.
Just before Brownlee ran, her friend and teammate, Lydia Brattrud, was seen in the stands giving her words of encouragement. On the starters gun, Brownlee exploded out of her blocks and was off.
Brownlee and Waukee’s Anjelena Carder were neck-and-neck coming down the home stretch, but it was Carder that was able to inch just ahead of Brownlee to take the win with a time of 55.45, which set a new Drake Relays record. Brownlee also bested the old mark with a time of 55.93.
Despite not gaining her second flag of the day, Brownlee was very happy with her performance and second place finish.
“I went out there and competed and PR’ed pretty big and that’s when I know that I gave it what I could today and if that’s not winning that’s okay,” said Brownlee. “Those other girls work hard just like me and if they deserved it today that’s okay. I’m proud of myself and happy to be here.”
The junior standout wouldn’t be done performing over the weekend though with one more event to run to close out Saturday, the 400 meter hurdles.
Saturday was a much nicer day in terms of weather until the evening which saw a three hour delay. The Lions, however, were done on their way home before the weather hit Des Moines.
Brownlee closed out the day with the 400 meter hurdles. She earned her second flag of the weekend by just around two seconds.
The first heat set a time to beat of 1:04.59. When it was time for the second heat to take the track, Brownlee walked out with a nice head bob that showed she was in the zone and ready to compete.
Her family and teammates were there to cheer her on which prompted a few smiles from the otherwise stone-faced Brownlee.
The gun sounded and the runners were off. Brownlee gained time early and as she rounded the last corner was in front of the pack. By the time she cleared the last hurdle, she was well on her way to the finish line as the other seven girls were just clearing the last hurdle.
Brownlee crossed the line in a time of 1:00.75, just ahead of Van Meter’s Eden Moore in 1:02.55 and Jessie Clemons of Pleasant Valley in 1:02.98.
“Last year I got second in the long jump and didn’t do the 400 hurdles. For me to come out and compete as well as I did today, it was just unbelievable,” said Brownlee. “Yesterday I was bundled up and today I am sweating, I have sunglasses on. You have to be ready for anything, especially in Iowa.”
Brownlee was thankful for all the support that was there for her that included teammates, family and friends.
“I am pretty sure I had at least 50 people there cheering for me,” said Brownlee. “Seeing that walking up to the blocks is confidence enough that if I don’t succeed or do what I want to do today I have that to go back to and that’s a win.”
While Brownlee had the most success at the Drake Relays, there were a few other Clear Lake Lions competing as well. They all will have a good shot at competing on the Blue Oval once more for state titles in just a few weeks.
Dylan Litzel competed in the high jump on Friday. Litzel cleared the opening height of 6-1 but was unable to advance through 6-3, hitting the bar on all three attempts at the height.
The winning height was 6-8 and achieved by Tyson Seeser of Camanche.
The 4×100 team of Enke, Schmitt, Dodge and Kerr ran a 43.35 which was good for 25th out of a field of 90.
The winning team with a time of 41.70 was Ankeny and the next seven advanced. The last qualifying team was Cedar Rapids Kennedy with a time of 42.43, showing just how tight the 4×100 race is.
Teams will attempt to qualify for state on May 9 in Clear Lake.
