The Drake University track and field teams travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, Saturday to compete in the Mark Messersmith Invitational hosted by UNI. Action for the Bulldogs begins at 10 a.m. inside the UNI Dome.
 
The Bulldogs will compete against the host, UNI, as well as Indiana State, South Dakota State and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
 
"We're looking to get another good strong effort in this week at UNI," said co-interim head coach Dan Hostager. "Training has been going well and it will be good to see some other MVC programs."
 
The Bulldogs are getting into the full swing of the indoor season after competing in Columbia, Mo., last week. Rai Ahmed- Green (Irvine, Calif.) continued her successful streak, finishing fifth in the 400 meters as well as helping the 4x400-meter relay team to a third-place finish. Taryn Rolle (Nassau, The Bahamas) also won the triple jump again with a 40-8.25 leap that was just 1.25 inches off of her personal best and ranks as the best in the MVC this season.
 
"We're right at the midpoint of the season and we're focused on shifting gears for the second half of the year and asking those athletes to continue to step up," said co-interim head coach LaRon Bennett.
 
For the men's team, Bas Van Leersum (Zaandam, The Netherlands) came in sixth in the 200 meters and third in the 400 meters in his last outing and is looking forward to racing on the same oval that will host the upcoming MVC Championship as he currently ranks in the top seven in the MVC at both distances.
 
"It will be good to compete at the same venue as the conference meet against some conference foes to see where we match up," Bennett added.
 
Hostager echoed that sentiment as the Bulldogs' distance runners test out the turns of the UNI-Dome track.
 
"It's tremendous to get in the facility and get a feel for how it will be during the conference meet with the flow of the event and familiarizing yourself with the layout," Hostager said.
 
Many of the competitors will also be aiming to lower their times to qualify for the more selective upcoming meets like next weekend's Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational in Lincoln, Neb., and the Meyo Invite in South Bend, Ind.