Gear Spoils Iowa Homecoming For Shelby Houlihan, Karissa Schweizer In Record-Setting 4:23.69 Mile; Vincent Ciattei, Roger Steen Complete Event Sweeps; Olympic Champion Tara Davis-Woodhall Breaks Meet Record In Long Jump

By Keenan Gray of DyeStat

Lily Dozier photos

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DES MOINES, Iowa - All of Iowa eagerly waited for the return of Karissa Schweizer and Shelby Houlihan to the Blue Oval to witness a 50-year-old mile record be broken. Instead, a 25-year-old from Ft. Meyers, Fla., spoiled their homecoming.

Four days after setting the American record at the USATF 1-Mile Championships in downtown Des Moines, Krissy Gear stormed into Drake Stadium Saturday afternoon and snatched the Drake Relays women's mile title away from Iowans Schweizer and Houlihan while taking down one of the longest-standing records.

Gear, who ran 4 minutes, 24 seconds on the roads on Tuesday, ran nearly the same on the track in 4:23.69, smashing Francie Larrieu's 1975 time of 4:40.2.

Houlihan finished second in 4:23.84 and Schweizer finished third in 4:25.27. All 16 women in the field were under Larrieu's meet record.

"This definitely helps with confidence," Gear said. "I'm hoping continue to show up like this in the rest of my races so that I can show up to USAs with the same mindset."

Gear hung back with the chase pack up until 200 meters to go when Houlihan began taking off on the final turn. Houlihan occupied lane one heading into the final straightaway, so Gear swung wide into lane two, sprinting past the world indoor silver medalist for the win, leaving the hometown crowd in shock.

Oregon's Silan Ayyildiz finished fifth overall in 4:25.50, establishing a new collegiate outdoor record. Teammate Mia Barnett finished sixth in 4:26.40, elevating herself to No. 2 on the all-time collegiate list.

Gear wasn't only the competitor going for an event sweep to complete a busy week in Des Moines. Vincent Ciattei and Roger Steen earned another pair confidence-building wins, too.

Ciattei, the men's USATF 1-Mile champion, won a tactical men's 1,500 meter race in 3:39.49, holding off Damien Dilcher by a half-a-second while closing in 53.28 seconds.

After learning World Athletics cancelled the 2025 World Road Running Championships, which were originally supposed to be in San Diego, and qualifying for Team USA after Tuesday's road mile win, Ciattei mentally stayed locked in despite the unfortunate news. 

"It's two good results on paper, but it's a little bit of a roller coaster," Ciattei said. "Being on a very big, emotional high coming off of a Tuesday thinking I had made a team USA."

The World Road Running Championships were scheduled to be held in San Diego, but World Athletics elected to move the championships to a new location, leading to them ultimately cancelling the championships for this year.

Steen, who won the World Shot Put Series title on Wednesday at Drake Fieldhouse, came through with a sixth-round throw of 21.62 meters (70-11.25) to take the men's shot put title after trailing Tripp Piperi for the entire competition. 

"I love that feeling of round six," Steen said. "If every round was round six, it would be amazing, but I kind of take a little while to get into it."

Three-time Olympic champion Ryan Crouser was scheduled to compete but was a late scratch.

Minnesota's Charles Godfred broke a 64-year-old meet record in the men's long jump, jumping a wind-legal and NCAA lead of 8.03m (26-4.25) to better Ralph Boston's mark by three inches. Godfred's overall result was a wind-aided 8.13m (26-8.25).

Olympic champions Tara Davis-Woodhall and Masai Russell both delivered exceptional performances in their return to the Drake Relays.

Davis-Woodhall made her season debut with a 6.75m (22-1.75) showing in the women's long jump, taking down Brittney Reese's meet record by half-an-inch.

Russell earned her first 100 hurdles win of the season in 12.74 (-1.4), beating Denisha Cartwright in 12.93.

American record holder KC Lightfoot vaulted over 5.70m (18-8.25) is his outdoor season-opening win in the men's pole vault.

Christopher Robinson, former Alabama standout, won the men's 400 hurdles in 48.92.

Ashley Tinashe Miller, the Zimbabwe national record holder in the 400 hurdles, won the women's race in 56.07.

Oregon's Klaudia Kazimierska collected her second white flag of the meet in the women's 800 in 2:02.03, going with her relay title in the 4x800 on Friday.

Former Houston hurdler De'vion Wilson ran a respectable 13.46 into a tough headwind, taking the men's 110 hurdles title.

Zandrian Barnes, representing adidas, pulled away from American Khaleb McRae in the men's 400 in a 45.29 to 45.38 margin.