TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Two Drake University track and field student-athletes were crowned Missouri Valley Conference champions while six others earned All-MVC honors during the final day of the MVC Outdoor Championship.

Drake's champions included Bas Van Leersum (Zaandam, The Netherlands) in the men's 400-meter hurdles and Emma Huston (Des Moines, Iowa) winning her final race at an MVC Championship in the 5,000 meters. Combined with Robert McCann's (Mississauga, Ontario) title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, the Bulldogs finished the three-day championship with three individual titles.

"This senior class has been amazing with Rob and Emma leading the way and Pierce Vincent and Kayla Bell coming in clutch with top-3 performances," said Drake head coach Natasha Kaiser-Brown.

Van Leersum's win helped highlight another strong showing in the hurdles and earn the program's second-straight title in the men's 400-meter hurdles. The junior finished in 51.66, the sixth-fastest time in school history. He was followed by sophomore Hudson Priebe (Chamberlain, S.D.) who earned all-conference honors for the second-straight year with a third-place finish in 52.21.

The women hurdlers had an equally impressive day as Virginia Hill (Haymarket, Va.) was third in the 400-meter hurdles with a huge personal best of 59.00, the second fastest time in school history. Mary Young (Urbandale, Iowa) was eighth in the race to collect points after turning in a third-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles earlier in the day in 13.58. She was followed in that race by teammate Destani Welch (Des Moines, Iowa) in seventh place.

"The Bulldogs really stretched themselves to contribute points this weekend," Kaiser-Brown said of the efforts across the board.

Huston's victorious 5,000-meter race saw her best the field by more than eight seconds to add to her legacy at Drake. That win came just hours after she earned a second-place finish in the 1,500 meters in 4:27.36, less than a second off the winning pace.

The Bulldogs' men's sprinters continued their strong season with points in the 100 and 200 meters. Pierce Vincent (Fayetteville, Ga.) was second in the 100 meters with a wind-aided time of 10.32 while Demetrius Shelton (Markham, Ill.) was fifth. Shelton, who has come on strong recently, later turned in a fourth-place finish in the 200 meters in 21.23, just a split second off the personal best time he clocked to earn a spot in the final.

In the field events, Kayla Bell (Bolingbrook, Ill.) earned all-conference honors in a second event with a third-place finish in the triple jump via a jump of 40-1.50 on her final attempt to move up one spot. On Saturday afternoon, Bell also recorded a third-place finish in the triple jump.

In the team standings, Wichita State claimed both the men's and women's team titles. Drake's women finished seventh in the team standings while the men were sixth.

Members of the team that have recorded regional qualifying marks will continue to train in preparation for the NCAA West Preliminary round in two weeks.

 

2016 MVC Outdoor Championship Sunday, May 15, 2016 Terre Haute, Ind.   Drake Individual Women's Results 1,500 Meters 2. Emma Huston, 4:27.36 9. Taylor Scholl, 4:38.70   5,000 Meters 1. Emma Huston, 16:27.19 9. Taylor Scholl, 17:19.95 15. Bailee Cofer, 17:30.07 21. Cassie Aerts, 17:37.72   100-Meter Hurdles 3. Mary Young, 13.58 7. Destani Welch, 14.10   400-Meter Hurdles 3. Virginia Hill, 59.00 8. Mary Young, 1:04.11   4x100-Meter Relay 6. Young, Ahmed-Green, Welch, Rolle, 48.12   4x400-Meter Relay 6. Hill, Young, Rettig, Ahmed-Green, 3:47.43   Triple Jump 3. Kayla Bell,  40-1.5 7. Taryn Rolle, 39-1.75   Women's Team Standings 1. Wichita State 155.5 2. Northern Iowa 133 3. Southern Illinois 117 4. Illinois State 107.5 5. Missouri State 100.5 6. Indiana State 70 7. Drake 59.5 8. Bradley 52 9. Loyola (Ill.) 23

2016 MVC Outdoor Championship Sunday, May 15, 2016 Terre Haute, Ind.   Drake Individual Men's Results 100 Meters 2. Pierce Vincent, 10.32 5. Demetrius Shelton, 10.50   200 Meters 4. Demetrius Shelton, 21.23   1,500 Meters 7. Robert McCann, 3:53.98   5,000 Meters 5. Reed Fischer, 14:30.77 20. Griffin Jaworski, 14:59.72 27. Josh Yeager, 15:14.36 34. Ali Jandal, 15:23.53   400-Meter Hurdles 1.Bas Van Leersum, 51.66 3. Hudson Priebe, 52.21   4x100-Meter Relay 4. Owens, Shelton, Chier, Vincent, 40.96   4x400-Meter Relay 7. Priebe, Van Leersum, Zak, Lombardi, 3:18.14   Triple Jump 8. Johnathan Osifuye, 46-7.25 11. Ethan Turner, 45-5 16. Sean Buczek, 44-2   Discus 14. Michael Dolan, 133-11 15. Ryan Lemke, 133-4   Men's Team Standings 1. Wichita State 206 2. Southern Illinois 132 3. Northern Iowa 125 4. Indiana State 118 5. Illinois State 86 6. Drake 63 7. Bradley 52 8. Loyola (Ill.) 35