AUSTIN, Texas – The Drake University track and field teams concluded competition at the NCAA West Preliminary with three Bulldogs competing on Saturday evening during the final day of the three-day competition.
 
The NCAA West Preliminary is used to select the competitors that advance to next month's NCAA Championship in Eugene, Ore., as the top 12 competitors in each event advance to the championship field.
 
Mary Young (Urbandale, Iowa) opened the day for the Bulldogs by narrowly missing the cut to advance to the NCAA Championship. The junior clocked a wind-aided time if 13.33 in her quarterfinal heat of the 100-meter hurdles to finish sixth in her heat, 17th overall and just 0.13 seconds away from advancing. Her quarterfinal race was the finishing chapter of a standout junior season in which she was crowned the Missouri Valley Conference champion in the 100-meter hurdles.
 
As Young was powering through the finish line, teammate Taryn Rolle (Nassau, The Bahamas) was competing in the women's triple jump. She capped her season, in which she earned a pair of All-MVC honors, by finishing 36th in the event with a jump of 40-2.
 
Finally, Reed Fischer (Minnetonka, Minn.) attempted to qualify for the NCAA Championship in a second event as he competed in the 5,000 meters to close the evening. However, just two days after a strong effort to advance in the 10,000 meters, Fischer came up just short in the 5,000 meters with a 27th place finish in 14:47.07.
 
On Thursday, the senior punched his ticket to Eugene with and eight-place finish in the 10,000 meters to qualify in the event for the second-straight year. Last season, he finished 17^th at the NCAA Championship in the event to barely miss earning All-America honors. He will compete next on Wednesday, June 7, at Hayward Field.