When
Bas Van Leersum left his home country of Netherlands in 2013 he did not expect to end up in Des Moines, Iowa of all places. Now a junior studying computer science and competing on the track and field team at Drake, Van Leersum has plenty of stories to tell and a number of goals to reach.
Van Leersum originally came to the U.S. as an exchange student at Santa Barbara City College, where he proved himself to be one of the best hurdlers in California. After finishing his associate's degree, he knew he wanted to transfer to a Division I school, but wasn't too picky about which one.
"I actually spent about two weeks sending emails to every Division I school in America," Van Leersum laughed, "Drake was one of the first to respond. I visited here and fell in love right away—it was an instant connection."
That connection is something that has only grown stronger throughout Van Leersum's first year at Drake.
"It's been so great here. Everyone at Drake cares more about their teammates and their performance. In California, track was like a class. Here it's a lifestyle."
This lifestyle change has led to a big increase in performance for Van Leersum.
Early on in his inaugural season at Drake, Van Leersum broke the 34-year-old school record in the 400-meter dash in a blistering time of 47.53 seconds. He showed no signs of slowing down as the season progressed and finished in third place in the 400-meters at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships in February. While making the podium in a deep field was a strong debut for him, Van Leersum was not satisfied.
"It was place to start, but I'm really focused on winning outdoor conference, qualifying for nationals here and qualifying for the European Championships to represent the Netherlands," Van Leersum said when asked about his future goals.
Van Leersum and the rest of the Drake track and field team return to action this outdoor season with more experience and excitement to take on the Missouri Valley Conference. Van Leersum is prepared for the season and is excited to see what the team can do: "I really think we can expect a podium finish for the team at conference, and I think we can count on bringing home a few individual conference titles."
