CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Drake University track and field teams continued their indoor seasons with strong individual performances at the Mark Messersmith Invitational Saturday afternoon at the UNI Dome.

In the scored team standings, Drake finished third out of the five teams in the women's field behind Indiana State and UNI. The Bulldogs defeated South Dakota State and Marquette. On the men's side, the Bulldogs defeated Marquette to finish fourth of five teams. 

The women's efforts were highlighted by Emma Huston (Des Moines, Iowa) winning the mile in 4:54.73, the sixth fastest mile in Drake history. She also finished seventh in the 800 meters. 

Mary Young (Urbandale, Iowa) continued her strong season with a second-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.58. Earlier in the day she claimed second in the 200 meters in 25.64. 

Also in the sprints, Taryn Rolle came in fourth in the women's 60 meters in 7.87 while Pierce Vincent (Fayetteville, Ga.) was third in the men's race in 6.89. 

Bas Van Leersum added to his strong debut season with the Bulldogs by winning the 400 meters in 48.55, the sixth-fastest indoor 400-meter time in school history. He returned to the oval later in the day to run a leg of the Bulldogs' 4x400-meter relay in which he took the team from fourth place to its second-place finish with a 47-second leg.

In the field events, Kayla Bell (Bolingbrook, Ill.) won the long jump with a personal best leap of 19-7.5 that was the third-longest jump in school history. She was also third in the triple jump at 39-3.25. For the men, Johnathan Osifuye (Woodbury, Minn.) was third in the triple jump and eighth in the long jump. 

The Bulldogs return to action Feb. 5-6 at the Husker Invite in Lincoln, Neb. 
 

Mark Messersmith Invite Jan. 30, 2016 Cedar Falls, Iowa   Women's Team Results 1. Indiana State, 166        2. UNI, 94   3. Drake, 62        4. South Dakota State, 56   5. Marquette, 55      Drake Individual Women's Results 60 Meters (Finals) 4. Taryn Rolle, 7.87 7. Rai Ahmed-Green, 8.21   60 Meters (Prelims) 5. Taryn Rolle, 7.98 7. Rai Ahmed-Green, 8.07   200 Meters 2. Mary Young, 25.64 11. Destani Welch, 27.48   400 Meters 3. Virginia Hill, 57.77 9. Rai Ahmed-Green, 59.39 14. Victoria Coombe, 1:03.05   800 Meters 7. Emma Huston, 2:16.20 11. Kayla Guiliano, 2:22.83 12. Bailee Cofer, 2:25.61 14. Shelby Varney, 2:34.77   Mile 1. Emma Huston, 4:54.73 6. Bailee Cofer, 5:10.38 13. Meghan Kearney, 5:26.87 14. Laura Gann, 5:29.02   3,000 Meters 6. Cassie Aerts, 10:91.19   60-Meter Hurdles (Finals) 2. Mary Young, 8.58 5. Destani Welch, 8.94   60-Meter Hurdles (Prelims) 2. Mary Young, 8.71 6. Destani Welch, 9.09 7. Virginia Hill, 9.25 9. Victoria Coombe, 9.46   4x400-Meter Relay 5. Drake, 4:07.10   High Jump 11. Taylor Patton, 5-0.25   Long Jump 1. Kayla Bell, 19-7.5 7. Taryn Rolle, 18-0.25   Triple Jump 3. Kayla Bell, 39-3.25 4. Taryn Rolle, 39-2.25

Mark Messersmith Invite Jan. 30, 2016 Cedar Falls, Iowa   Men's Team Results 1. UNI, 174        2. Indiana State, 124         3. South Dakota State, 75        4. Drake, 38        5. Marquette, 22   Drake Individual Men's Results 60 Meters (Finals) 3. Pierce Vincent, 6.89 5. Aaron Chier, 6.99   60 Meters (Prelims) 2. Pierce Vincent, 6.91 6. Aaron Chier, 7.01 11. Demetrius Shelton, 7.11 13. Kendall Owens, 7.14   200 Meters 4. Aaron Chier, 22.40 8. Kendall Owens, 22.50 9. Pierce Vincent, 22.51 10. Demetrius Shelton, 22.62   400 Meters 1. Bas Van Leersum, 48.55 10. Hudson Priebe, 50.76 15. Dominic Lombardi, 51.70 18. Myles Campbell, 52.91   800 Meters 9. George Webb, 1:56.97 16. Alec Bognar, 1:59.83 17. John Freeman, 2:00.85   Mile 6. James Saxton, 4:21.88 12. Ali Jandal, 4:26.30 15. Chris Kaminski, 4:31.30   3,000 Meters 12. Ali Jandal, 9:02.09 14. Chris Kaminski, 9:08.39   60-Meter Hurdles (Prelims) 9. Dominic Lombardi, 8.67 10. Bas Van Leersum, 8.87   4x400-Meter Relay 2. Drake 'A', 3:20.14 8. Drake 'B' 3:28.14   High Jump 6. Forest Moses, 6-0.75   Long Jump 8. Johnathan Osifuye, 22-3   Triple Jump 3. Johnathan Osifuye, 46-2 12. Ethan Turner, 43-0.5 13. Sean Buczek, 42-9   Shot Put 12. Michael Dolan, 4-11.75   Weight Throw 9. Michael Dolan, 50-8