DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University men's cross country program opened its season on Friday evening with the annual Bulldog Classic at Ewing Park. The team finished second in the meet, which was scored as three separate meets between Drake, Iowa State and UNI.
The Bulldogs defeated UNI, but fell to Iowa State.
With temperatures nearing 100 degrees, the heat played a factor in the race and the week of training leading up to it.
“This heat has made training tough during this first week of practice and during today's meet,” Drake head coach Dan Hostager said. “But overall it was a good meet to get our younger kids some experience.”
Sophomore Rob McCann (Mississauga, Ontario) was the top finisher for the Bulldogs, finishing in 10:50.34, just a second behind the winning pace set by Iowa State's Steve Dado on the 4-kilometer course. Redshirt junior Doug Brady (Englewood, Colo.) also finished in the top ten for Drake, with an 11:04.91 finish that earned him a ninth-place finish.
“I'd be lying if I said it was easy because the heat and the loose footing made it a pretty rough course,” McCann said of his second-place finish. “But that's why we run this early in the season, to give us something to work off of.”
Freshman Reed Fischer (Minnetonka, Minn.) finished just outside of the top 10 in his first collegiate race with a 12th-place showing and a time of 11:10.71.
Drake will continue to train throughout the week to prepare for the Oz Memorial on Friday, Sept. 6 in Minneapolis, Minn.
Bulldog Classic Team Scoring
Iowa State – 19
Drake – 36
Iowa State – 19
UNI – 36
Drake – 25
UNI – 33
Bulldog Classic Drake Results
4-Kilometers
2. Rob McCann - 10:50.34
9. Doug Brady - 11:04.91
12. Reed Fischer - 11:10.71
14. Ryan Flynn - 11:17.70
18. James Saxton - 11:24.71
20. Calvin Quarterman - 11:26.97
22. Ali Jandal - 11:30.76
25. Ryan Ross - 11:53.53
