Cedar Rapids Prairie's Matt Stocker grits his teeth and completes his anchor leg of the 1,600-meter medley relay Friday at the Drake Relays. Stocker ran a 1:53.4 anchor, and the Hawks won in 3:30.83. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

DES MOINES – Matt Stocker’s emotions did a 180-degree turn in one day.

Stocker anchored Cedar Rapids Prairie’s 1,600-meter medley relay to a Drake Relays championship Friday.

The Hawks’ quartet of Andy Erenberger, Tom Frieden, Demetrius Harper and Stocker was clocked in 3 minutes, 30.83 seconds.

Prairie competed in the second of three heats, and won it behind Stocker’s 800-meter anchor of 1:53.4. Then it was a matter of waiting and watching as the teams in the so-called fast heat battled it out.

Nobody was faster than the Hawks.

“It looked like the Indianola kid (Brennan Davey) was going to do it,” Frieden said. “He ran into a headwind there in the last 100, and that helped us.”

Indianola finished in 3:31.39.

The result was redemption for Stocker, who had high hopes in the 3,200-meter run on Thursday, but finished 18th.

“I didn’t run a good 2-mile race,” he said. “I still had some steam for this race.

“We came in here with the idea that we could compete for a medal. But this … this is an amazing feeling.”

The Hawks didn’t know they were winners until after another race was run. Cedar Rapids Washington’s 800-meter relay foursome had to wait longer.

Washington ran second to Burlington, but was awarded the title after the Grayhounds were ruled for an exchange-zone violation.

“(A Drake official) came up to me outside the stadium and handed me the (championship) flags,” said Washington Coach Bill Pinckney. “It was kind of surreal.”

Shay Hoffman, William Griffin, Ronnie Henderson and Alex Carr were clocked in 1:28.79. Burlington’s time was 1:28.56.

“A win is a win,” Carr said. “If a team doesn’t execute, it doesn’t win. It’s too bad we didn’t get to take our victory lap, but it’s a win, and it feels like a win.”

It should. Washington ran faster Friday than it did last year, when it won here in 1:29.14.

Linn-Mar's Kyle Dunn (middle) easily won the boys' 110-meter high hurdles Friday at the Drake Relays. He won in 14.20 seconds. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Linn-Mar’s Kyle Dunn overcame a tense moment before his race, and a slight stumble early in it, to win the 110-meter high hurdles in 14.20 seconds.

The original start was recalled when Mid-Prairie’s Tanner Miller was called for a false start. Dunn was afraid it might have been him.

“I was a little nervous,” he said.

Dunn is favored to sweep the hurdles. He’ll compete in the 400-meter event — his stronger race — Saturday.

“The highs are more about pure strength. I’ve been in the weight room, trying to get stronger,” he said.

Ryan Sander of Cedar Rapids Xavier was third.

Other winners were James Harrington of Cedar Falls (11.01 seconds in the 100), Noah Kittelson of Indianola (6-8 in the high jump) and Brandon Scherff of Denison-Schleswig (61-7 1/4 in the shot put).