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Drake University Athletics

DeGrave Runs Second Fastest 400 In School History At Iowa State Classic

Men's Track and Field Drake Athletics

DeGrave Runs Second Fastest 400 In School History At Iowa State Classic

AMES, IOWA - After running the third-fastest indoor 400 time in school history last weekend at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational, junior Jon DeGrave (Lake Villa, Ill.) followed up the performance running the second-fastest 400 mark in school history at the Iowa State Classic on Saturday (Feb. 12).

"Jon is really amazing to be honest," commented Drake track and field head coach Natasha Brown. "With the training that he has done and his performances, he has put everything in the bank. Now as his coaches we have to be smart with him to make sure that he is sharp at conference."

DeGrave's time of 48.22 earned him a 13th-place finish in the seeded section of the event.

Junior Charlie Lapham (Golden Valley, Minn.) registered a fifth-place finish in the 800-meter non-seeded race clocking in at 1:54.40. Senior Brandon Lewis (Armstrong, Minn.) was 14th in the event finishing in 1.55.45.

Freshman Doug Brady (Englewood, Colo.) came in sixth in the non-seeded mile, while junior Matt Jurysta (Oshawa, Ontario) was seventh. Brady clocked in at 4:17.41, while Jurysta finished in 4:18.10.

Freshman Brogan Austin (Boone, Iowa) earned a 10th in the seeded 3,000 race clocking in at 8:26.66, while freshman Omet Kak (Des Moines, Iowa) was 21st in 8:36.27.

"I really like what the distance guys are doing," said Brown. "There is a group of guys that are very consistent. They are being aggressive to set themselves up for very good performance and they are fun to watch."

Freshman Brett Wright (Longmont, Colo.) registered a sixth-place finish in the 400-meter non-seeded race finishing in 49.22.

The 4x400 relay team of junior Shaun James (Lawrence, Kan.), sophomore Dan Karys (Bartlett, Ill.) and freshmen Ian Wells (Champaign, Ill.) and Travis Marsh (Ankeny, Iowa) were 21st, clocking in at 3:17.82. The mark is the fastest this season by Drake.

"We are going to be doing some tuning up next weekend at the Iowa Invitational," said Brown. "We are still working on what some of our relay teams will be as we have some really good athletes. We can do a lot of different orders with individuals and it is a good problem to have."

The Bulldogs will travel to Iowa City, Iowa next Friday (Feb. 18) to partake in the Iowa Invitational. The meet marks the last time Drake will be in action before the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track And Field Championship in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Feb. 26 and 27.

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Players Mentioned

Matt Jurysta

Matt Jurysta

Distance
Freshman
Brandon Lewis

Brandon Lewis

Distance
Sophomore
Jon DeGrave

Jon DeGrave

Sprints/Hurdles
Freshman
Omet Kak

Omet Kak

Distance
Junior

Players Mentioned

Matt Jurysta

Matt Jurysta

Freshman
Distance
Brandon Lewis

Brandon Lewis

Sophomore
Distance
Jon DeGrave

Jon DeGrave

Freshman
Sprints/Hurdles
Omet Kak

Omet Kak

Junior
Distance