Graber headlines PCM boys at Drake Relays

DES MOINES — PCM senior Riley Graber was not surprised he reset the school record books in the 400-meter dash at the 115th Drake Relays on Friday.

“I don’t know how you can’t run fast here,” Graber said. “It’s a special place running in front of all these people. I know I’m going to run well here.”

Graber not only ran well. One could argue he made a big statement. And his fourth-place finish on the blue oval in the 400 led the Mustangs inside Drake Stadium.

PCM also competed in the 4x100 relay on Saturday. And only one runner from that quartet had ever been a participant in the Drake Relays prior to this season. Only two of the members had ever ran on the blue oval before period.

“I think we ran well for two of the guys being here for the first time,” Graber said. “It was easier for me today because I ran yesterday. But the other guys haven’t been in a while or never been at all.”

Graber anchored the 4x100 relay to a 45th-place finish. The Mustangs did not post a season-best time, but the foursome of Lewis Daye, Tad Wilson, Adrien Robbins and Graber turned in a time of 43.99 seconds.

That’s the team’s second-best 4x100 time this season. They came into the meet with the 77th-best qualifying time.

“I think we’re happy with our time, but we know we could have done better,” said Robbins, who ran on PCM’s 4x100 team as a sophomore. “I think we could have done better on handoffs. We ran up on each other too much, and that hindered our times.”

The Mustangs’ time was the fifth-best in Class 2A. They needed a 42.65 to make the finals.

“Once we got things rolling, it was really fun for me,” Daye said. “I’m not satisfied. I think we can be better and our handoffs can get better.

“It was a humbling experience. This was basically us getting ready to state.”

Daye and Wilson made their debuts on the blue oval. Both athletes admitted to being nervous before the race.

“It was what I expected,” Wilson said. “It’s just like another meet, but the mindset is different. We did all right. I think we could have done better.”

Johnston (41.84) edged Cedar Rapids Kennedy (41.89) for the championship later in the day.

“I’m really proud of how the boys competed in the 4x100 relay,” PCM head track and field coach Logan Bieghler said. “It was a great learning experience that they will cherish and use to their advantage in the future. You could tell the nerves got to them a little bit, but that’s to be expected.”

Graber moved into the top five in the 400 dash despite running in the first heat. Graber set the tone with another career-best and school-record time.

He finished fourth in the race with a career-best time of 49.17. He edged Newton’s Caden Klein (49.26), who was the runner-up in the second heat.

Three of the top five finishers came from the opening heat.

“That’s why you practice every day and go hard in meets,” Graber said. “To get one more opportunity to do that is blessing. To finish fourth is all I could have asked for. Especially coming out of Heat 1.”

Johnston’s Jashua Anglo won the 400 in 48.836. He edged Center Point-Urbana’s Nathan Miller (48.838). The top three finishers completed the race in fewer than 49 seconds.

“I wish I could have ran against Klein, Anglo and Townsend,” Graber said. “I don’t know them personally, but you hear about them and to not get to run against them was a little disappointing.”

Bieghler said moving up from the ninth-best time to a fourth-place finish is all anyone could have asked for out of Graber.

“He was the first PCM male individual qualifier in five-plus seasons, which is an accomplishment in itself,” Bieghler said. “He went out and attacked his 400 and gave it his all. Leaving the Drake Relays with another PR and bettering his own school record is pretty special.”