Friday, December 9, 2011

AMES, Iowa - Drake senior Jon DeGrave (Lake Villa, Ill.) won the 300-meter dash and was a part of the winning Bulldog 4x300-meter relay squad, while junior Isaac Twombly (Baldwin, Kan.) broke his own school record in the indoor weight throw at the Iowa State Holiday Preview on Friday (Dec. 9).

DeGrave, a two-time Missouri Valley Conference champion in the 400-meter hurdles and honorable mention All-American last year in the 400-meter hurdles, won the 300-meter dash with a time of 34.54. Fellow senior Shaun James (Lawrence, Kan.) was third clocking in at 34.58, while sophomore Ian Wells (Champaign, Ill.) ran 35.74 to finish seventh.

The 4x300 relay team of sophomore Travis Marsh (Ankeny, Iowa), DeGrave, junior Dan Karys (Bartlett, Ill.) and James had a winning time of 2:20.34.

Twombly, the school record holder in the indoor weight throw and hammer throw, had a toss of 59 feet 7 inches to claim second-place and to break his prior school record of 56 feet 4.5 inches set last year. Sophomore Andy Curtis (Manchester, Iowa) was ninth with a heave of 49 feet 5.75 inches.

"It's a great start for Isaac positioning him as a potential MVC scorer," commented throws coach Mark Kostek. "Andy showed improvement and will continue to get better throughout the season. The immediate future looks bright for the Bulldog throwers."

Karys was second in the long jump (23 feet 0.75 inches) and sixth in the triple jump (45 feet 0.50 inches). Sophomore Alex Kaster (Omaha, Neb.) was third in the triple jump (45 feet 5.25 inches) and ninth in the long jump (20 feet 7.75 inches).

Sophomore Ryan Flynn (Bettendorf, Iowa) was third in the 3,000-meter race finishing in 9:06.19.

Drake will have a long hiatus before its next meet on Jan. 14, when the Bulldogs travel to Vermillion, S.D. to partake in the Graphic Edge Meet.