IOWA CITY, IOWA - The Drake men's track team won three titles at the Iowa Invitational on Friday (Feb. 18) in its final tune up before the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track And Field Championship.
Drake had the top-six finishers in the 800-meter race as junior Matt Jurysta (Oshawa, Ontario) won the contest while setting a personal best of 1:55.60. Senior Brandon Lewis (Plymouth, Minn.) was second finishing in 1:56.36, while junior Charlie Lapham (Golden Valley, Minn.) had a time of 1:57.27 to place third.
"The 800-meter race changed leaders several times which led to an exciting race," commented head coach Natasha Brown.
Junior Shaun James (Lawrence, Kan.) took home the 400-meter crown clocking in at 51.55.
"It was his first time competing in the open," said Brown. "He was never challenged and simply went for the win."
Sophomore Dan Karys (Bartlett, Ill.) leapt 22 feet 2.25 inches in the long jump to win the event.
Sophomore Mike Rodriguez (Chanhassen, Minn.) was timed in 4:32.32 in the mile to finish second.
The Bulldogs had four of the top six finishers in the 200-meter dash. Freshman Brett Wright (Longmont, Colo.) registered a third-place finish clocking in at 23.30, while sophomore Bryan Kosusnik (Sycamore, Ill.) was fourth running a time of 23.41. Freshmen Travis Marsh (Ankeny, Iowa) and Ian Wells (Champaign, Ill.) were fifth and sixth, respectively, finishing in 23.47 and 23.48.
Sophomore Brandon Ridlen (Griswold, Iowa) finished fifth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.25, a season best.
Sophomore Isaac Twombly (Baldwin, Kan.) earned a 10th-place finish in the weight throw with a toss of 49 feet 2.50 inches. Freshman Andy Curtis (Manchester, Iowa) finished two places behind Twombly with a throw of 47 feet 10.50 inches.
The
Drake “B” 4x400 relay team of Marsh, Wells, Jason Wood (Overland Park, Kan.) and Lewis finished second clocking in at 3:24.73.
The Drake “A” team of Wright, James, Jon DeGrave (Lake Villa, Ill.) and Karys
were third finishing in 3:26.69.
“We ran two relays to see
what viable foursome we can put together for the championship,” said Brown. “We
came out with another likely candidate as Lewis ran the fastest split.”
The Bulldogs will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa next Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 26-27) to compete in the State Farm MVC Indoor Track And Field Championship.
