The Drake University track and field teams are set to open their outdoor season March 24 at the Arkansas Spring Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. Action is scheduled to begin Saturday at 3 p.m. at John McDonnell Field.
 
The Bulldogs will face top competition from preseason USTFCCA top-25 teams Kansas and Arkansas as well as Missouri, Oklahoma State, Wichita State, MidAmerica Nazarene, Arkansas Baptist, Missouri S&T, Southern Methodist, Iowa Central, Cloud County, Saint Louis, Avila and Friends.
 
Drake opens its 2018 outdoor season just weeks after a successful outing at the MVC Indoor Championships with nine all-conference honorees. Freshman Cloud Masibhera (Harare, Zimbabwe) became the first Bulldog to win a conference long jump title since 2009 with a dominant mark of 24-8.25.
 
Sophomore Deonne Witherspoon (South Bend, Ind.) and senior Kevin Kelly (Kilcok, Ireland) registered a pair of third place finishes in the 60 meters and mile, respectively. The team of Xavier Lechleitner (Edgar, Wis.), Bas Van Leersum (Zaandam, Netherlands), Cory Erickson (Duluth, Minn.) and Kelly rounded out the Bulldogs competition with a second-place finish in the distance medley relay.
 
The women's team was led by strong performances from a pair of senior leaders. Mary Young (Urbandale, Iowa) took second in the 60-meter hurdles while Bailee Cofer (Overland Park, Kan.) placed third in the 3,000 meters just a day after taking fifth in the 5,000.
 
The Bulldogs will have a three-week break from competition as they prepare for the Jim Duncan Invitational April 13-14 at the Drake Stadium.