LINCOLN, Neb. - The Drake University track and field teams resumed their indoor season this weekend with strong performances at the Holiday Inn Invitational in Lincoln, Neb.

"We hit the training really hard the past two weeks and I figured everyone would feel a little flat and a little sore," said Drake head coach Natasha Kaiser-Brown. "The hope was that they would still compete hard and they did. I like what I'm seeing this year. If this weekend is any indication of performances to come, the next few meets should be fun!"

Sophomore standout Mary Young (Urbandale, Iowa) continued her indoor season with a season-best time of 8.52 in the 60-meter hurdles.  Young's time was the fastest collegiate time with only professional Sharika Nelvis finishing ahead of Young. Nelivs, a former NCAA Champion, owned the fastest 60-meter hurdle time in the world last season.

Later in the afternoon, Young joined Rai Ahmed-Green (Irvine, Calif.), Laura Gann (Wheaton, Ill.) and Virginia Hill (Haymarket, Va.) to finish second in the 4x400-meter relay in 3:51.76. Ahmed-Green also finished eighth in the 200 meters in 25.53.

The women's distance medley relay team of Bailee Cofer (Overland Park, Kan.), Meghan Kearney (Kansas City, Mo.), Emma Huston (Des Moines, Iowa) and Cassie Aerts (David City, Neb.) also finished second in 12:07.40.

On the track for the men on Saturday, junior college transfer Bas Van Leersum made his Drake debut in the 600 meters and finished fifth in 1:20.02, but was the third fastest collegiate competitor in the race that also featured Erik Sowinski, the American record holder in the event.

Van Leersum also turned in a 47-second anchor split in the 4x400-meter relay to help the Bulldog team of Hudson Priebe (Chamberlain, S.D.), Dominic Lombardi (Columbus, Ohio) and James Saxton (La Crosse, Wis.) finish eighth in 3:20.65.

"Bas almost caught the heat leader but ran out of real estate," Kaiser-Brown said. "The crowd went nuts when they heard his split." 

Freshman Aaron Chier turned in an eighth-place finish in the 200 meters with an indoor personal best of 22.26. 

In the field evens on Saturday, Kayla Bell (Bolingbrook, Ill.) and Taryn Rolle turned in a pair of top-10 performances in the triple jump. Bell was second with a leap of 39-8.75 while Rolle was sixth in 39-0.5

"Kayla Bell and Taryn Rolle represented the jumpers at a high level," Kaiser-Brown said. "Both kicked of the 2016 season making their presence known."

In Friday evening's events Emma Huston (Des Moines, Iowa) won the mile with a personal best time of 4:55.69 that bested the field by nearly six seconds and was the sixth-fastest time in school history.  Huston overcame a tough start and slow pace early in the race to pull away from the pack with 500 meters left.

"Emma started her season off great winning the mile and separated herself from the field," said Drake head coach Natasha Kaiser-Brown.

Also on the track for the women, freshman Meghan Kearney (Kansas City, Mo.) took second place in the 800 meters in 2:16.22. The field events were highlighted by Kayla Bell (Bolingbrook, Ill.) taking fourth in the long jump with a leap of 18-7.

"Kayla's speed on the runway has really developed," Kaiser-Brown said.

For the men's team, James Saxton (La Crosse, Wis.) continued his indoor season by finishing third in the 800 meters with a time of 1:54.54.

"James fought hard in the 800 meters and it won't be long before we see a big drop in his time," Kaiser-Brown said.