South Dakota junior Chris Nilsen took gold in the invitational pole vault at the 110th Drake Relays on Saturday inside Drake Stadium.
Nilsen topped Olympic medalist Sam Kendricks in head-to-head competition for the first time in his career. It marked the fifth meeting between the two with a pair of Drake Relays and a pair of U.S. Outdoor Championships.
Nilsen vaulted 19 feet, 2 ΒΌ inches, for a new season best that broke the Drake Relays record and tied Drake Stadium’s facility record set by Kendricks at the 2018 U.S. Outdoor Championships.