Drake Relays

For our Defender Discussions episode this time, we are going to, this is going to be a special treat, and it's a treat for me, and I hope for our listeners as well.

We're joined by Mike Jay, and you might know Mike Jay as the voice of the Drake Relays Iowa High School track, and he's a local guy, an Iowa native, but he has branched out and done A lot of track and field and cross-country coverage, and we're going to get to the specifics of why we're talking to them in just a little bit.

It's Track Guy Foundation and something to do with that for the GPAC Championships.

But, Mike, first of all, thank you for taking some time.

Sure.

Well, I graduated in 1977 from Columbus Junction, Iowa, Columbus Community Schools, and then ended up coaching there for almost 30 years as well.

But anyway, my high school track coach, Coach Ken Purdy, In 1975, I said, hey, we've got a couple extra tickets to the Drake Relays if you'd like to go along.

I was a sophomore.

I'm here my 10th year at Drake University as currently the Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Operations.

I'm also the Franklin P. Johnson Director of the Drake Relays.

And hi, everyone.

Good to be here.

And just hearing from my mentors in the industry and folks that are currently even on our staff at Purdue that talk very highly of the conference, I just knew I wanted to be a part of it.

And I'm so thankful that I got the invitation and got to attend this year.

Yeah, similar to both Andrew and Courtney, really embrace the community of college athletics, but maybe different in that I consider myself relatively new to college administration in that I came with a coaching background and then I left coaching to be executive director of a nonprofit, and came here to lead the Drake Relays.

And only in the last couple of years, it stepped into leading our marketing, communications, broadcast, video production.

I mean, that's always going to be a little bit, you know, you never, when you're going to have a wet week and you're gonna have a mud pit, the temperature cooperated for the week.

It was great for the 25th running, having Mike Jay there, the voice of the Drake Relays.

He just had a lot of, just so much background on some of the runners.

How one person was running for somebody else who had been deceased for a few years and now was running the race.

The temperature cooperated for the week.

It was great for the 25th running, having Mike Jay there, the voice of the Drake Relays.

He just had a lot of, just so much background on some of the runners.

How one person was running for somebody else who had been deceased for a few years and now was running the race.

The expo, I thought, you know, it's on the grass.

I mean, that's always going to be a little bit, you know, you never when you're going to have a wet week and you have a mud pit, the temperature cooperated for the week.

It was great for the 25th running, having Mike Jay there, the voice of the Drake Relays.

He just had a lot of, just so much background on some of the runners.

One of them indoors, two mile indoors that we tied for first place in our conference.

And then I won a 10,000 at, I can't remember, in Drake Relay.

And that was when I was on my way out.

So I was excited to leave.

Penn State leading three-nothing, 3:44 to go, first quarter.

This is Gray, winner of the Kansas and Drake relays in the 100.

9.3 is his speed, and what a tackle he gets.

Met head-on, on a fine tackle, by number 44, Charlie Adams.

Just can't get to it at the 20.

He had a step on George Landis.

And for Mel Gray, when he's got a step, that means that's all We'll repeat it again, this young man won both the Kansas and Drake Relays 100-yard dash, but officially in competition at mile three.

Now, there's always a temptation with a sophomore to try to go way up top.

He went on to compete at Iowa where he ran the third-best time in Iowa history for the mile, a 4:14:15 at the Mayo Invite in the 2026 indoor season.

He ran lead off on the Hawkeyes winning 4x800 relay at the Drake Relays in April.

Their time, 7:20:36, ranks second-best in Iowa history.

He finished his career at Iowa with bests of 1:50:07 for the 800, 3:45:49 for the 1500, and 4:04:15 for the mile.

All right.

Well, let's hope it all goes well for you, that this c- uh, continues to grow.

I met you at, in April at Drake Relays when you ran lead off on that four by eight.

You had-- Well, you were sitting out the previous year when the Hawkeyes won, so it was, had to have been a thrill for you to, to get that white flag, that Drake Relays flag, and, and to, to run such a quick time there.

Mm-hmm

... w- was a, was a, a gold medalist at Iowa High School state track in the Drake Relays.

Like, you, you can't teach that speed You can teach the vision, you can teach the toughness, you can, you can teach the agility, and Flora has improved on all of that substantially from his time in high school where he was a really dynamic running quarterback.

You can't teach the speed, and you saw that on the, the second touchdown run he had.