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Drake University Athletics

Women?s Track Team Set To Battle At MVC Championship

Women's Track and Field Drake Athletics

Women?s Track Team Set To Battle At MVC Championship

What's Ahead: The Drake women's track team will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa to compete in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship this Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 26-27). Events from the UNI Dome will start at 9:30 a.m. both days.

Last Time Out In its final tune up before the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track And Field Championship, Drake won six events at the Iowa Invitational on Friday (Feb. 18).

Senior Kara McCartney (Elgin, Iowa) won the 600-meter race clocking in at 1:37.44.

Sophomore Sarah Yeager (Ottumwa, Iowa) captured the 60-meter hurdles crown with a time of 9.06.

Senior Cambria Pardner (Aurora, Colo.) took home the triple jump title soaring 36 feet 10. 25 inches.

Sophomore Marissa Smith (Ajax, Ontario) out ran the competition in the 60-meter dash to win the event. Smith's time of 7.94 beat Ebonie Butler of St. Ambrose and Pardner by a hundreth of a second. Pardner finished in third clocking in 7.95, and sophomore Kelly Hendricks was fourth finishing in 8.06.

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The Drake 4x400 "A" relay team of Yeager, Whitney Westrum (Waukee, Iowa), Beth Hamling (Council Bluffs, Iowa) and Clarissa LaFlora (Kewanee, Ill) won the event with a time of 3:56.07.

Senior Lindsay Smith (Lakeville, Minn.) won the 3,000-meter run finishing in 10:51.39.

Westrum ran a time of 26.24 to register a second-place finish in the 200-meter dash.

Senior Tyse Samani (Kansas City, Mo.) was second in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet 6 inches. Freshman Vaughn Powell (Ballwin, Mo.) was third with a jump of 5 feet 2.25 inches.

Senior Johanna Sprang (New Brighton, Minn.) earned a second-place finish in the pole vault with a jump of 11 feet 5.75 inches.

Sophomore Jazmine Dupee (West Des Moines, Iowa) finished second in the long jump as she soared 15 feet, 10.25 inches.

A Year Ago: Ari Curtis (Fort Collins, Colo.) finished second in the pentathlon with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark to highlight action for the Drake women's track and field team at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championship.

Curtis also set a Drake indoor school record, breaking Jane Toporowski's mark of 3,500 points set in 1980.

Curtis closed out the pentathlon strong by winning the final two events -- the long jump at 18 feet 7.25 inches and 800-meter run in 2 minutes 18.48 seconds -- to total 3,739 points.

Tyse Samani won the high jump title with a leap of 5 feet 7 inches. Teammate Michelle Mitchell (Brookfield, Wis.) was ninth at 5-5.

Kara McCartney was third in the finals of the 800 in two minutes 15.13 seconds.

Nicole Braunsdorf and Casey McDermott (Newton, Iowa) had steller performances at the meet. Braunsdorf finished fourth in the mile in 4:56.82 and came back to place third in the 5,000 in 17:35.06. McDermott was fifth in the mile in 4:57.74 and capped off the meet by placing fourth in the 5,000 in 17:44.13. McDermott was fifth in the finals of the 3,000-meter run in 9:47.50, while Braunsdorf was sixth in 10:03.47.

Tara Scieszinski  was 12th in the 5,000 in 18:11.15, while Meredith Bell (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) was 13th in 18:15.19.

Johanna Sprang placed seventh in the pole vault at 11-09, breaking the school indoor record of 11-7.75 held by Sprang and 2004 record holder Jess Hetcko.

Drake closed out the meet by placing sixth in the 4x400 relay with Caitlin Able Clarissa LaFlora, Sarah Yeager and Curtis being clocked in a season best 3:53.08.

Marissa Smith finished eighth in the final of the 60 hurdles in 9.03 seconds.

Up Next: Drake will travel to Ames, Iowa for the final time this season to compete in the Iowa State Last Chance Meet on March 5. 

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Players Mentioned

Caitlin Able

Caitlin Able

Sprints
Freshman
Nicole Braunsdorf

Nicole Braunsdorf

Distance
Sophomore
Meredith Bell

Meredith Bell

Distance
Sophomore
Ari Curtis

Ari Curtis

Sprints
Sophomore
Beth Hamling

Beth Hamling

Sprints
Sophomore
Clarissa LaFlora

Clarissa LaFlora

Sprints
Sophomore
Kara McCartney

Kara McCartney

Middle Distance
Sophomore
Casey McDermott

Casey McDermott

Distance
Sophomore
Michelle Mitchell

Michelle Mitchell

Jumps
Sophomore
Cambria Pardner

Cambria Pardner

Sprints
Sophomore
Tyse Samani

Tyse Samani

Jumps/Hurdles
Sophomore
Lindsay Smith

Lindsay Smith

Distance
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Caitlin Able

Caitlin Able

Freshman
Sprints
Nicole Braunsdorf

Nicole Braunsdorf

Sophomore
Distance
Meredith Bell

Meredith Bell

Sophomore
Distance
Ari Curtis

Ari Curtis

Sophomore
Sprints
Beth Hamling

Beth Hamling

Sophomore
Sprints
Clarissa LaFlora

Clarissa LaFlora

Sophomore
Sprints
Kara McCartney

Kara McCartney

Sophomore
Middle Distance
Casey McDermott

Casey McDermott

Sophomore
Distance
Michelle Mitchell

Michelle Mitchell

Sophomore
Jumps
Cambria Pardner

Cambria Pardner

Sophomore
Sprints
Tyse Samani

Tyse Samani

Sophomore
Jumps/Hurdles
Lindsay Smith

Lindsay Smith

Sophomore
Distance