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121 W alking around Jim Duncan Track following the conclusion of the 2017 Drake Relays, the same comment echoed through the stands: Coach Woody has this team going. e University of Iowa men's track and field team dominated the field from April 27-29, winning the Hy-Vee Cup, accumulating 39 points, by winning three relays in what was the worst weather at the meet in recent history. "is has been one of our goals," said Woody, Iowa's director of track and field. "Having the Hy-Vee Cup makes it a fun, team atmosphere. We have been talking about coming out here and winning a lot of relays." e three relays were the most the men have won at the Drake Relays since the event was founded in 1910. e events were the 4x800, sprint medley, and 4x400. "To come out and win a lot of relays and score a lot of points sets us up well to get ready for the Big Ten championships," Woody said. "We felt good about the 4x800, sprint medley, and 4x400. We felt good about the 4x100, too, and we were close to winning that race as well." Iowa has been building up to this for a couple years. e Hawkeyes have won the sprint medley relay in three of the past six years while ending long droughts in the 4x800 and 4x400, races the program had not won at Drake since 1929 and 1967, respectively. "e 4x400 group is the same team that went to the national meet and ran well at the national meet," Woody said. "We had (sophomore) Mar'yea (Harris) on the anchor and there are not many better anchors in the country." Out-of-state competitors don't realize the magnitude of the Drake Relays until they step foot on the blue oval and for those out-of-state Hawkeyes, they are happy they made the state of Iowa proud. "is is my first (Drake Relays championship) and it feels good," sophomore DeJuan Frye said. «Running for Iowa and knowing how important this is to the coaches and everybody that lives here, I feel good that I made them proud and that I did the best that I could.» One of the season's biggest men's contributors has been freshman Emmanuel Ogwo, who started his career with the Iowa football program. He was part of two Hawkeye victories — the sprint medley and 4x400. "To be a freshman and be surrounded by this group of guys is great," Ogwo said. "ey take their job seriously, so every day they come into practice and the atmosphere is high and the expectations are high." Ogwo runs the lead leg on one of the country's best and youngest 4x400 groups. Iowa's lineup includes two freshmen and two sophomores and currently sits seventh in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten. e men were not the only victorious relay; the Hawkeye women cruised to the 4x100 title for the first time since 2014. "It's special to put on a show for our fans and go home with one of these pretty (Drake Relays) flags," senior Alexis Hernandez said. Hernandez and anchor Brittany Brown were on the relay in 2014 that won the event at the Drake Relays. ey returned in 2017 to win the event for a second time in program history. Iowa heads to the Big Ten Championships in State College, Pennsylvania, from May 12-14. MAY-JUNE SCHEDULE May 12-14 at Big Ten Championships State College, Penn. May 25-27 at NCAA West Preliminary Austin, Texas June 7-10 at NCAA Championships Eugene, Ore.