CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Drake University track and field teams scored in four events and six athletes advanced to finals on the first day of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship at the UNI Dome on Saturday, Feb. 27.

The Bulldogs' opening day at the championship was highlighted by a pair of second-place finishes with Reed Fischer (Minnetonka, Minn.) turning in a time of 14:28.88, an indoor personal best, to take second in the men's 5,000 meters. Minutes later, the women's distance medley relay team of Bailee Cofer, Virginia Hill, Taylor Scholl and Emma Huston finished second with a time of 11:48.31. 

That performance capped a successful day for Scholl and Huston as both qualified for Sunday's final in the mile. Huston (Des Moines, Iowa) turned in the second-fastest qualifying time of the day in the event at 5:02.38 while Scholl (Prior Lake, Minn.) was the eight-fastest in 5:04.80 to advance.

In the men's mile, Robert McCann (Mississauga, Ontario) also moved on to Sunday with a sixth-place finish in the preliminary heats of the event in 4:20.41.

Three Bulldog sprinters and hurdlers also advanced through the preliminary round. Sophomore Mary Young (Urbandale, Iowa) finished third in the 60-meter hurdle heats in 8.58 to advance while Pierce Vincent (Fayetteville, Ga.) was fourth in the men's 60-meter preliminary heats in 6.84. Bas Van Leersum continued his string of strong performances in the 400 meters by clocking the fastest qualifying time of the day in 48.30

Drake's women's team also got points from the field events on Saturday with senior Kayla Bell (Bolingbrook, Ill.) finishing fourth in the long jump with a leap of 19-2.75. 

With five events scored on the first day, the women's team sits in sixth place in the team standings with 13 points while the men's team is seventh with nine points.

The second day of MVC Indoor Championship action gets underway on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. In the UNI Dome.