AMES, Iowa – Bas Van Leersum continued his stellar debut season with the Drake track and field team by shattering the school record in the men's 400 meters Saturday at the Iowa State Classic Saturday.

Van Leersum clocked in at 47.53 to finish fourth in the talented field. That time easily shattered the 34-year-old school record of 47.6 set by Mike Jorgensen in 1982.

"Bas took the lead at the break and finished strong," said Drake head coach Natasha Kaiser-Brown. "He continues to always look effortless."

For the women's team, Kayla Bell (Bolingbrook, Ill.) capped another strong weekend by winning the triple jump with a leap of 39-9.75. On Friday evening, she claimed the long jump crown with a mark of 19-0.75 to give her a sweep of the weekend's horizontal jumps.

"Kayla had another great meet," Kaiser-Brown said. "She is still putting some things together with her training, but once again was able to turn in solid performances."

In the men's jumps, Johnathan Osifuye (Woodbury, Minn.) was fifth in the triple jump on Saturday with a jump of 46-10 to lead a trio of Bulldogs in the top 10.

Men's sprinter Pierce Vincent (Fayetteville, Ga.) also turned in a solid weekend with a pair of top-10 performances in the 60 and 200 meters. On Friday, he was 10th in the 200 meters at 21.83 and also finished 10th in the 60 meters on Saturday with a time of 6.90.

This weekend's action also saw another school record as Emma Huston (Des Moines, Iowa) recorded the Bulldogs' fastest ever indoor 5,000 meters at 16:17.30. Her performance bested the previous record, set in 2000, by more than 27 seconds. Reed Fischer (Minnetonka, Minn.) nearly claimed a school record as well in the men's 3,000 meters with a time of 8:06.88, just 0.44 seconds off the record pace.

The Bulldogs will have next weekend off from competition as they prepare for the MVC Indoor Championship, Feb. 26-28, in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
 

Iowa State Classic Ames, Iowa • Feb. 12-13, 2016   Drake Individual Women's Results 200 Meters 20. Rai Ahmed-Green, 25.35   400 Meters 23. Rai Ahmed-Green, 57.15 28. Virginia Hill, 57.83 35. Kaylen Rettig, 59.64   800 Meters 39. Meghan Kearney, 2:14.46 45. Laura Gann, 2:15.20 51. Danielle Griesbaum, 2:20.84 53. Kayla Giuliano, 2:21.80   Mile 42. Taylor Scholl, 5:03.01 43. Cassie Aerts, 5:04.57 47. Bailee Cofer, 5:06.87   5,000 Meters 10. Emma Huston, 16:17.30    60-Meter Hurdles (Prelims) 9. Mary Young, 8.59 13. Destani Welch, 8.87 25. Virginia Hill, 9.27   4x400-Meter Relay 15. Gann, Rettig, Coombe, Kearney, 4:00.38   High Jump 17. Jaclyn Aremka, 5-3   Long Jump 1. Kayla Bell, 19-0.75   Triple Jump 1. Kayla Bell, 39-7.75

Iowa State Classic Ames, Iowa • Feb. 12-13, 2016   Drake Individual Men's Results  60 Meters 10. Pierce Vincent, 6.90 17. Aaron Chier, 7.06 18. Demetrius Shelton, 7.06 25. Kendall Owens, 7.16   200 Meters 10. Pierce Vincent, 21.83 17. Aaron Chier, 22.11 21. Demetrius Shelton, 22.17 29. Kendall Owens, 22.49 36. Nihad Ejubovic, 23.52   400 Meters 4. Bas Van Leersum, 47.53 28. Hudson Priebe, 49.20 42. Dominic Lombardi, 50.95 44. Cory Erickson, 51.78 45. Tyler Zak, 52.54 46. Nihad Ejubovic, 52.72   800 Meters 52. James Saxton, 1:54.38 58. George Webb, 1:55.48   Mile 70. Chris Kaminski, 4:26.22 72. Ali Jandal, 4:33.98   3,000 Meters 19. Reed Fischer, 8:06.88 39. Rob McCann, 8:17.14   60-Meter Hurdles 26. Dominic Lombardi, 8.63   High Jump 12. Forest Moses, 6-4.75 13. Ryan Cook, 6-4.75   Long Jump 14. Johnathan Osifuye, 21-10.75   Triple Jump 5. Johnathan Osifuye, 46-10 7. Sean Buczek, 44-6.25 8. Ethan Turner, 43-9   Weight Throw 19. Michael Dolan 51-0.25