DES MOINES, Iowa - Drake junior Marissa Smith (Ajax, Ontario) had a personal best of 13.88 to finish in ninth place in the 100-hurdles at the 103rd running of the Drake Relays on Friday.
Smith missed out on advancing to the finals by less than a hundredth of a second.
"I got out slower than I wanted to. It was windy, but I got back into it at the end," said Smith.
One thing that was on Smith's mind was her false start a year ago at America's Athletic Classic, which disqualified the 2012 Missouri Valley Conference 60-meter hurdle champion. Smith was sure to not false start this year.
"I just needed to stay focus. I had a great warm up today, which made me feel better. I've grown a lot and matured and became stronger since last year."
The Drake 4x200 featured Smith, senior Ari Curtis (Fort Collins, Colo.), sophomore Tiara Winston (Denton, Texas) and junior Whitney Westrum (Waukee, Iowa) snared sixth with a time of 1:39.37. For Westrum, the 2009 Most Outstanding Performer in the girls' division, it was her first time running at the Relays since her memorable performance.
"It was so nerve-wracking," said Westrum. "It's a really exciting time though. Running on our home track with a full crowd was amazing."
The same Drake 4x200 squad were 10th in the 4x100 clocking in at 46.75.
The Bulldogs will wrap up competition at the Drake Relays tomorrow.
