LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Four members of the Drake University men's
cross country team competed in the NCAA Pre-National Meet Saturday morning with
Brogan Austin (Boone, Iowa) leading
the Bulldogs with a 15th place finish.
The 8-kilometer race at Louisville's E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State
Park serves as a preview of next month's NCAA Championships at the same venue
and features one of the deepest and most talented fields the Bulldogs have seen
to date. Drake did not compete as a team in the unseeded Black flight of the
meet as the Bulldogs employed a split squad this weekend with the bulk of the
team competing at Bradley on Friday.
“Our guys weren't thrilled with their times,” Drake head
coach Dan Hostager said. “But the competitive effort was there and that will
help us down the line. It was good to see our guys get some national-level
experience. That will serve us well in our upcoming championship meets.”
Austin turned in time of 24:41.5 for his 15th
place showing followed by Charlie Lapham
(Golden Valley, Minn.) in 61st at 24:47.7. Conor Wells (Des Moines, Iowa) finished in 25:40.8 to come in 96th
while Rob McCann (Mississauga,
Ontario) was 99th in the
278-runner field at 25:41.3
“This was a great experience,” Wells said. “It's not every
day you get to run in one of the best meets of the year against some great
competition. It was a great learning experience to see what it takes to compete
against the top runners in the nation.”
The Pre-National meet is the Bulldogs' final meet before the
start of the championship season on Oct. 27 with the Missouri Valley Championships
in Normal, Ill.
Pre-National Meet
Drake Results
15. Brogan Austin, 24:41.5
61. Charlie Lapham, 25:47.7
96. Conor Wells, 25:40.8
99. Robert McCann, 25:41.3
