DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Native Iowan Jenny Simpson broke the U.S. record in the two-mile race to highlight Friday’s session of the Drake Relays. Simpson shattered the American mark in the somewhat obscure event by finishing in 9 minutes, 16.78 seconds. The record had been set in 2014 by Shannon Rowbury at 9:20.25.

Simpson’s time was the eighth fastest ever recorded in the two-mile, a race she teamed up with meet director Blake Bolden to bring to Drake in an effort to give fans a marquee race on Friday, since most of Drake’s elite events scheduled for Saturday.
With a near-packed house cheering her on, Simpson clinched the mark with a final lap of 63.1 seconds.

Simpson, who was born in Webster City, improved to 11-0 in Drake Relays events.