Drake Champs: Harrington, 4x100 set Drake records: Hi-Line Blog

Jared Hylton/Sports Editor

The four seniors on the 2012 Drake Relays went out with a bang. Mitch Dowell, James Harrington, Shawn Hagarty and Luke Toyosi shredded the 4x1.

With a winning time of 42.17 seconds, they not only won the Drake 4x1 but also set the meet record, shattering Des Moines East’s previous record of 42.19, which was set in 2003.

Harrington also set the Drake record for the open 100-meter race with a time of 10.61 seconds, breaking the previous record of 10.63 by North Davenport’s Marques Simmons.

This was Harrington’s third consecutive 100-meter championship, making him part of an elite club, joining two other runners who had previously won three consecutive open 100-meter dashes.

With two more championships under his belt, Harrington now claims six Drake championships. If the Crimson Tide return in 2013, he’ll have a shot at a few more.

Harrington was the anchor for the 4x1. When he received the baton from Dowell, he was a few steps behind Waterloo West High’s Haris Nuhanovic. Harrington tracked down Nuhanovic who finished second with a time of 42.55 seconds.
West’s anchor had to be carried off the track with what appeared to be a lower leg injury. West came into the 4x1 hoping to steal it away from Cedar Falls. The Wahawk’s expectations were not unrealistic; they posted the fastest qualifying time on Friday.

“This is really special because we’re all seniors, we wanted to leave our mark,” Dowell said.

Before Drake, Cedar Falls had trouble putting a consistent 4x1 team on the track. Toyosi has been sidelined for most of the track season due to a torn ligament in his foot that occured the end of the football season.

“I’m just happy to be back. This is really special. [At Drake] we weren’t even thinking about the meet record. It wasn’t until after the race that it struck us,” Toyosi said.

Hagarty went out for track late in the season but worked his way up to the varsity 4x1.

“It was really cool that even though he came out late he was able to get his form down, and he got really good at blocks. It’s amazing he was able to run with us on that,” Dowell said.

This marks Hagarty’s first year of high school track. Head coach Jeff Hartman was pleased to discover what Hagarty was capable of after Shawn decided to go out as a senior. This fall Hagarty will attend Kirkwood Community College to play baseball for the Eagles.

After State, Harrington will carry his track career on at the University of Alabama where he hopes to make it back to Drake as a Crimson Tide.

For these four seniors, it’s taken dedication, time and effort to get where they are, but it’s not over yet. The Tigers are looking to repeat as state champions this May when they travel back down to the blue oval at Drake University. Dowell said he has high expectations for State.

“We want to improve our time [at State]. We’re going to get in as many points as possible, and, hopefully, we can bring home another title," he said.