What's Ahead: The
Drake men's track and field team will take its talents to Cessna Stadium in
Wichita, Kan. to take part in the 2012 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference
Outdoor Track and Field Championship on May 11-13.
Following The Meet: Live results of the meet will be available on GoDrakeBulldogs.com. Additionally, a
free video stream is available for the meet on the Wichita
State website.
Last Time Out: Drake claimed three
titles at the Messersmith Invitational hosted by Northern Iowa on Friday, May
4.
Three-time Missouri
Valley Conference champion Jon DeGrave (Lake Villa, Ill.) won the 200-meter
dash in 21.78, as the senior strives to win his third straight MVC 400-meter
hurdles title next weekend. Sophomore Brett Wright (Longmont,
Colo.) was third in 21.97.
The Drake 4x100 and
4x400 squads snared titles, as the 4x100 team crossed the line in 42.42 and the
4x400 relay squad won in 3:21.19.
Sophomore Travis Marsh (Ankeny, Iowa) was fourth in the
400-meter hurdles clocking in at 55.95,
Meanwhile, junior Charlie Lapham (Golden Valley, Minn.) ran a personal
best in the 1500 against some of the nation's best runners at the Arkansas
Twilight on Friday, May 4.
Lapham's time of 3:46.79
earned a sixth-place showing, while sophomore Omet Kak (Des Moines, Iowa) claimed eighth in
3:47.53.
A Year Ago: Jon DeGrave repeated as Missouri Valley Conference champ in the
400-meter hurdles, while Brandon Lewis won the 800-meters at the State Farm
MVC Outdoor Track And Field Championship on May 15 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
DeGrave became the first
Drake athlete since Mark Dzradosi to win back-to-back Outdoor MVC titles. DeGrave
beat out Jonathan Jackson of Indiana State in the timed final crossing the line
in 52.40.
Lewis won the first ever
800-meter crown in Drake's history as he took the race in a photo finish.
Lewis's time of 1:54.05 beat out both Stephen Arvanis of Southern Illinois and
Thibault Vandenabeele of Northern Iowa, who finished with times of 1:54.10 and
1:54.11,
respectively.
Freshman Brogan Austin (Boone, Iowa) earned a fourth-place
finish in the men's 5,000 clocking in at 14:53.85.
Charlie Lapham (Golden Valley, Minn.) and Omet Kak (Des Moines, Iowa) finished fifth and
sixth in the 1500 clocking in at 3:53.84 and 3:54.23, respectively.
Alex Kaster (Omaha, Neb.) finished eighth in the triple jump soaring 47
feet 7 inches.
Brett Wright (Longwood, Colo.) was sixth in the 400-meter dash finishing
in 49.70.
