WICHITA, Kan. - Drake sophomore Phillip Beeler (Lenexa, Kan.) and junior Kevin Harp (Iowa City, Iowa) were third and fifth, respectively, in the men's javelin, while freshman Conor Wells (Des Moines, Iowa) was fourth in the men's 10,000-meters during the first day of action at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track And Field Championship on Friday.

Beeler's throw of 208 feet 7 inches was a personal best for the sophomore, which excited throws coach Mark Kostek.

"He had a series of throws that shows he has learned to compete at a high level," said Kostek. "I'm very happy for him."

Harp's best mark on the afternoon at Cessna Stadium was 204 feet 4 inches, 4 feet 9 inches feet off of his school record and personal best of 209 feet 1 inch which he set at the Drake Relays earlier this campaign.

"Now we hope its on to the first round of NCAA competition in two weeks with both of them," commented Kostek. "We are getting better all the time and another competition excites me to see what they might accomplish."

Wells, in his first 10,000-meter race of his career, finished in 31:35.33 en route to a fourth-place showing.

"He wasn't intimidated by all of the guys with all-conference honors under their belts," commented distance coach Dan Hostager. "Like a lot of Valley races, it was very slow off the get go, but Conor didn't let that affect his race and competed very well. This should help his confidence and be great experience for the future."

On the women's side, junior Briana Isom-Brummer (St. Louis, Mo.) sits in fifth place after four events in the heptathlon. She has tallied 2,854 points and was second in the high jump soaring 5 feet 4.25 inches.

"She clipped a hurdle in her first event but rallied back in the high jump," commented head coach Natasha Brown. "We are looking forward to tomorrow's events."

The meet continues tomorrow with the women's heptathlon long jump at 10 a.m. Field events begin at 4 p.m. and running events start at 6 p.m.