TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Victoria Coombe (Centennial, Colo.) turned in a huge personal best and the third-fastest 400-meter hurdle time in school history to lead the Drake University track & field teams Saturday at the Missouri Valley Conference Track & Field Championship.
 
Coombe clocked a time of 59.87 to win her preliminary heat of the event easily and qualify for Sunday's final. She became just the third Bulldog to break the 1-minute barrier in the event. Her success in the event was replicated by the Drake men in the event as three Bulldogs advanced to Sunday's 400-meter hurdles finals. Malik Metivier (Toronto, Ontario) led the trio of qualifier with a time of 52.16 followed by senior Hudson Priebe (Chamberlain, S.D.) in 54.67. Metivier's time was the third-fastest on the day while Priebe's was the sixth to advance the senior to the finals for the fourth time in his career.
 
Dominic Lombardi (Columbus, Ohio) completed the qualifiers in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 54.33 to claim the seventh-fastest time of the day. Tyler Zak (Little Chute, Wis.) narrowly missed earning a spot in the finals with a time of 55.26, the ninth-fastest qualifying time of the afternoon.
 
Drake also advanced competitors in the men's 100 meters and women's 100-meter hurdles during preliminary heats Saturday. Aaron Chier (Belgium, Wis.) and Kundai Maguranyanga (Harare, Zimbabwe) posted times of 10.70 and 10.79, respectively, in the 100 meters to record the fourth and fifth fastest preliminary times of the day.
 
Mary Young (Urbandale, Iowa) advanced to her fourth-straight 100-meter hurdles final at the MVC Championship by posting a qualifying time of 14.07 to advance.
 
The Drake men continued to add points in the standings as Josh Yeager (Center Point, Iowa) finished fifth in the steeplechase with a personal best of 9:12.07, while Erik Olson (Rockford, Minn.) picked up points in the decathlon by finishing seventh with 5,662 points. Bryce Lang (Lee's Summit, Mo.) completed the final day of the heptathlon in 10^th place after notching multiple personal bests in the events.
 
Drake begins the final day of the MVC Championship Sunday with the men's team in sixth place after two days while the women's team's finalists aim to rack up points for the Bulldogs.
 
2018 MVC Championship
May 12 – Day 2
 
Drake Individual Men's Results
100 Meters (Prelims)
4. Aaron Chier, 10.70
5. Kundai Maguranyanga, 10.79
 
400 Meters (Prelims)
19. Blair Barrow, 50.95
 
110-Meter Hurdles
11. Dominic Lombardi, 15.05
 
400-Meter Hurdles
3. Malik Metivier, 52.16
6. Hudson Priebe, 54.67
7. Dominic Lombardi, 54.33
9. Tyler Zak, 55.26
 
3,000-Meter Steeplechase
5. Josh Yeager, 9:12.07
14. Matt Cozine, 9:48.54
 
High Jump
9. Forest Moses, 6-6 (1.98m)
 
Decathlon
7. Erik Olson, 5,662
 
 
Drake Individual Women's Results
100 Meters (Prelims)
13. Sophia Jackson, 12.32
 
400 Meters (Prelims)
15. Kayla Giuliano, 57.03
19. Rai Ahmed-Green, 58.53
 
800 Meters (Prelims)
13. Meghan Kearney, 2:17.46
 
100-Meter Hurdles (Prelims)
6. Mary Young, 14.07
 
400-Meter Hurdles (Prelims)
1. Victoria Coombe, 59.87
 
3,000-Meter Steeplechase
16. Olivia Rogers, 11:57.07
 
Heptathlon
10. Bryce Lang, 3,861