Posted: April 28, 2006

Athletics: USATF News & Notes, Volume 7, Number 27

Howard wins Drake Relays downtown high jump

World leader Chaunte Howard won a special women's high jump Wednesday, held in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, soaring1.92 meters/6 feet 3.50 inches, to kick off the 97th annual Drake Relays.

Howard, who won a silver medal at the 2005 World Outdoor Championships, cleared the winning height on her second attempt, before missing three chances at 1.98m/6-6.

Competing before a noon audience at Nollen Plaza, the six competitors delighted the fans jumping to their own personal theme song on a special Mondo surface runway.

"I had never heard of anything like this before," said Howard, who soared a world best 2.00m/6-6.75 to win the Mt. SAC Relays April 15. "It was a super atmosphere. The competition was great and the crowd was fantastic."

The field included three-time Olympian Amy Acuff, who finished second at1.84m/6-0.25, along with Austra Skyjute, who captured a silver medal in the heptathlon at the 2004 Olympics.

Howard, who won first-place prize money of $1,500, jumped to the beat of the Black Eyed Peas song 'My Hump'.

"I changed the words from hump to jump. I think of it as a high jump song and let it motivate me. The crowd really got into it," said Howard who won the 2006 USA Indoor Championships.

"It was good to have a little appetizer before the track meet because it lets the city connect. Even though it was a relaxed atmosphere we were all working hard."

Howard wasn't scheduled to compete in the regular Drake Relays women's invitational high jump set for Saturday. However, after her victory, Howard told meet director Brian Brown she planned to stick around.

"She was really excited after the event and was wondering whether there was a chance she could jump inside our stadium Saturday before a packed house," said Brown. "So,of course, I said yes."

Both Acuff and Howard appreciated the support from the crowd especially from a group of 100 grade school kids.

"The little kids were awesome. They were excited and got us going. It was nice to have everyone jammed up, clapping and cheering for us," said Acuff. "It makes it that much better for us and we end up jumping higher.

"The Drake Relays are fantastic. It's early spring and you have people come out who are fanatical. It is really special."

Brown, a former world-class high jumper, proclaimed the event a rousing success and plans on scheduling more field events downtown in the future. "These are the type of things you do to bring recognition to the event," Brown said. "It brings a little more of a flair.

"I think every field event person probably at some point envied the sprint person on the track," Brown said. "There's a little bit of me as director (wondering) how can we draw attention to a fantastic event. I want to promote all of track and field, but I want to remember the event that was part of my roots."

"Brian (Brown) was an amazing high jumper," Acuff added. "I am old enough that I use to see him jump. He knows what to do and he did a real professional job today.

Officials expect 8,148 athletes, representing 720 teams, will participate in the 97th running of the Drake Relays Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at Drake Stadium. A total of 466 athletes from foreign countries are expected to compete during the four-day event with Canada having the most athletes in the meet at 94, followed by Jamaica with 57, Kenya 38 and Poland with 22.

The Drake Relays will be headlined by reigning men's 400m world champion and Olympic gold medalist Jeremy Wariner, who will compete in the men's invitational 200 meters on Saturday. Wariner posted the world's fifth-fastest time in that event this season on April 1 with his time of 20.37 seconds in Arlington, Texas.

An impressive array of women's talent will be on hand for the Drake Relays, including reigning 200m World Outdoor champion and 2005 Jesse Owens Award winner Allyson Felix, who will participate in the women's invitational 100 meters. Felix posted her personal best time and the fastest time in the world this year with her win in 11.04 seconds April 22 at the Kansas Relays.

For more information on the 2006 Drake Relays, visit DrakeRelays.org.

Memorial service for Jack O'Reilly announced

Corr Chapel on the campus of Villanova University will be the site of a memorial service Friday, April 28, for "the voice of the Penn Relays," Jack O' Reilly, who died August 30. He was 89.

The O'Reilly family postponed the service to coincide with this year's Penn Relays. The service will begin at 10 a.m.

As a high school athlete running for Brooklyn Preparatory School in the 1930s, O'Reilly won a medal at the Penn Relays and in the 1940s and 1950s he announced the Relays for Philadelphia and New York radio stations. A well-known broadcast personality in Philadelphia, O'Reilly became a volunteer public address announcer at the Penn Relays in 1961. A decade later he was named the chief announcer for the event.

"He didn't know more about track than anyone else," Dave Johnson, director of Penn Relays told the Philadelphia Inquirer, "but he had the best voice of anyone, and he had the ability to feel the flow of the action."

In 2001, for the last time, Mr. O'Reilly stirred up the crowd at Franklin Field, calling out, "Are you ready, are you really ready, are you really, really ready?"

There will be a moment of silence and the ringing of bells at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Penn Relays in Mr. O'Reilly's honor before the Public League Race.

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