In late April, JMC/SMC’s Prep Sports Report class traveled to Des Moines to cover the state’s most prestigious annual track and field meet, the Drake Relays. This is the second time Prep Sports has had the opportunity to do so since the course was introduced.

According to professor Wayne Drehs, the instructor for Prep Sports, this opportunity came to fruition due to the course’s consistent coverage of Solon, Mt. Vernon and Lisbon high school sports. Once it was announced who qualified for the meet, three Prep Sports journalists volunteered to document these exceptional athletes’ journey.

Prior to heading to Des Moines, Drehs gave the students advice by stating that covering Drake Relays is essentially the same as covering a local community track meet, just on a larger scale. After putting this into perspective, he encouraged them to step out of their comfort zones and challenge themselves.

“Get there early and embrace the awkwardness was what I said to them,” Drehs said. “You’re going to have many, many moments where you don’t know where to go, you don’t know what to do, you don’t know who to talk to. That’s totally normal. When you feel that way, know it’s OK…figure out an answer and you’ll be fine.”

Emma Reiter, one of the journalists who covered the meet, said the experience was a balanced mixture of fun, exciting and tiring. However, she is incredibly proud of the work she was able to produce.

“I was like, ‘you’re never going to regret being tired,’” she said. “The tired is temporary, and the experience I got was so fun.”

While at Drake, Reiter was primarily in charge of photography and finding moments to capture on the front end. On the back end, she worked on adjusting and editing photos to ensure they were ready for publishing.

Among everything she observed and captured, Reiter said her favorite events to cover were high jump and hurdles; that is, due to the emotion and differences in action.

Alongside Reiter, Abby Princeton—a third-year student with Prep Sports—was in charge of taking photos, vlogging her and Reiter’s experience, and boosting visibility on social media. According to Drehs, boosting engagement on social media is one thing he has emphasized all semester.

“I’ve been stressing with them (the students) the importance of doing more social content,” he said. “I think it could be really beneficial in reaching the students/that demographic and getting them more engaged with what we do, and then in turn, having them more engaged with the paper.”

Due to her past as a track athlete herself, Princeton said she particularly enjoyed watching the throwing events. Likewise, the 4x200 meter relay stood out to her due to her high school—Waukee Northwest—winning for the fifth year in a row.

“Just to see them progress is really awesome and cool,” she said. “I know those girls, and I trained with them.”

Princeton said 2026 was her second year covering Drake relays. As a result of her past experience, she felt the production process went much smoother, although she mentioned this was also a product of the support she received from Reiter and senior Chris Meglio.

Likewise, Reiter said she gained support from other photographers she met at the meet. For her, Drake was also an opportunity to network with media professionals.

Echoing the encouragement Drehs gave the students before heading to Des Moines, Reiter said her biggest takeaway from this experience was the importance of welcoming the discomfort and uncertainty of a new experience—especially when working alongside professionals from other organizations.

“It’s being OK with being uncomfortable, but also pushing yourself to the front sometimes, because you are at the same level as these other people with media passes,” she said. “You all need content, so you really have to push for what you need.”

Reflecting back on this experience, Drehs hopes students have gained an understanding that regardless of an event’s size, there is always a story worth telling.

“Whether there’s 20 people or 2,000 people in the stands, there are incredible stories to tell,” he said. “You just have to find them.”