Katerina Stefanidi soars to Drake Relays pole vault title

Sometimes, it's better to throw caution to the wind and disregard the record books.

It was an attitude that helped Katerina Stefanidi soar to a victory Friday in the Drake Relays pole vault, and kept Demi Payne from being too down after missing a spot in history.

"We just kind of went back and forth," Stefanidi said of a duel that captivated 10,770 soggy spectators.

Stefanidi, a Stanford alum, won her first Relays title in at least half-a-dozen tries with a vault of 15 feet, 5 ½ inches, despite less-than-ideal conditions.

"It was hard during warm-ups," Stefanidi said, "because there was less adrenaline and I kind of had some health issues.

"As the meet went on (the wind) calmed down."

Payne, a junior at Stephen F. Austin, was second with a clearance of 15-3 ½.

That's higher than any collegian had ever gone before — but it wasn't a record.

Payne won the Relays' street vault Wednesday in downtown Des Moines (15-1 ½), and according to NCAA rules an athlete cannot be credited with a record when competing in the same event twice during one meet.

There was also some confusion regarding differences between NCAA rules and those used by invitational meets such as the Drake Relays.

"It's a little bummer," Payne said of not being credited with a record, "but I know it and I think everyone else knows it.

"So, it's alright."

Payne seemed generally pleased to have competed well against Stefanidi. She was also complementary of Arkansas senior Sandi Morris, who placed third with a vault of 14-9 ½.

Morris set an NCAA indoor record of 15-1 ½ earlier this year and established a new collegiate outdoor mark of 15-1 ¾ on April 11.

"A lot of these meets I come in a foot above the rest of the girls," Payne said. "I don't really have that push."

An elite shuttle hurdle race resulted in two teams pushing each other to a photo finish.

The Blue Team (which featured Dawn Harper-Nelson, Queen Harrison, Brianna Rollins and Kristi Castlin) edged another quartet of all-stars.

Both were clocked at 50.50 seconds, but Castlin was first to lean across the tape.

"My (starting) blocks kind of slipped, so I was nervous," Castlin said. "The last part of my race is always so good, so I really stayed focused and ran off the last hurdle.

"I was happy the ladies did such a great job in the beginning and I did not want to let them down."

It was the first-ever shuttle hurdle race for Harper-Nelson, a former Olympic champion and silver medalist.

"I truly enjoyed myself," she said. "It was just fun to run with three other amazing hurdlers."