Men's Track and Field 3/31/2011 1:00:00 PM Drake Athletics

Men?s Track Opens Outdoor Campaign With Two Meets

Thursday, March 31, 2011

What's Ahead: The Drake men's track and field team will open up its outdoor campaign by traveling to a pair of meets. Some team members will travel to the Spring Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. on April 2, while others will stay in state and compete in the Central Invitational hosted by Central College in Pella, Iowa on April 2. Start time of the Spring Razorback Invitational is at 3 p.m., while the Central Invitational will begin at 10 a.m.

Indoor Season Recap: The Drake men's track and field team started the indoor season with 14 newcomers competing during the two-month campaign. However, it was a familiar face that made headlines for the team as junior Jon DeGrave (Lake Villa, Ill.) lowered his personal best in the 400-meter race by almost one second on his way to claiming the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field title in the event.

DeGrave won the race in 48.57, and in the process became the first Drake athlete to be crowned the MVC Indoor 400-Meter Champion.

DeGrave also competed this year in the 200-meter race, which was a new event for the junior, finishing second at MVC's with a time of 21.97.

Versatile sophomore Dan Karys (Bartlett, Ill.) finished fourth in the triple jump at the MVC meet with a leap of 48 feet 5.50 feet, a personal best. Karys also set a personal best in the long jump with a leap of 23 feet 2 inches.

The trio of senior Brandon Lewis (Plymouth, Minn.) and juniors Charlie Lapham (Golden Valley, Minn.) and Matt Jurysta (Oshawa, Ontario) competed strong all year in the 800-meters. Both Lapham and Jurysta advanced to the final heat of the 800-meters at the MVC Championship and Lapham finished fifth in the event crossing the line in 1:54.00, while Jurysta was sixth in 1:54.99.

Sophomore Isaac Twombly (Baldwin, Kan.) set the Drake record in the indoor weight throw with a toss of 56 feet 4.50 inches on Jan. 21 at the Iowa State Open.

The newcomers made an impact during the season and at the MVC Championship. Freshman Brogan Austin (Boone, Iowa) set the Drake freshman record in the 3,000-meter race at the Iowa State Classic on Feb. 13 with a time of 8:26.66. Freshman Omet Kak (Des Moines, Iowa) finished fourth in the mile at the MVC Championship clocking in at 4:14.15 with Austin placing seventh in 4:16.13.

The freshmen trio of Brett Wright (Longmount, Colo.), Ian Wells (Champaign, Ill.) and Travis Marsh (Ankeny, Iowa) all competed well in 400-meter races throughout the season.

Outdoor Season Preview: Junior Jon DeGrave (Lake Villa, Ill.) heads into the season ranked 30^th in the nation in the 400-meter hurdles according to the first poll released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for the 2011 outdoor season.

Last season, DeGrave won the 400-meter hurdles at the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track And Field Championship with a time of 51.27.

Sophomore Kevin Harp (Iowa City, Iowa) will compete in the javelin once again for the Bulldogs this season. Harp, the school record holder, also qualified for the NCAA Regional's last year. Freshman Phillip Beeler (Lenexa, Kan.) will also compete in the javelin this season.

Sophomore Isaac Twombly (Baldwin, Kan.), after setting the school record in the indoor weight throw, will move to the hammer throw this outdoor campaign.