DES MOINES – The Drake University track and field team shined to open the 2021 Drake Relays on Friday night at Drake Stadium, with a school record in the women's 3,000-meter steeplchase by
Brooke Mullins and three other four Bulldogs –
Elizabeth Aho,
Andrew Berndt and
Anastasia Kirillov – notching personal records in their respective events.
Mullins kicked off the night in the Steeplechase, earning a seventh place finish with a time of 10:39.68 – besting the previous school record of 10:44.48 set by Casey McDermott in 2009.
Aho and Kirillov kept Drake's momentum rolling by smashing their PRs in the 5000m. Aho claimed fourth place in 17:08.81 – shaving 23 seconds off her lifetime best – while Kirillov used a time of 17:23.46 to slot into 10
th place as she set an 18-second personal record.
Millie Bretl and
Ashlee Siegle rounded out the Bulldogs in the unseeded division with times of 18:09.13 and 18:28.98, respectively.
The action continued with the Men's 5000m (Unseeded), and Berndt blazed his way to an eighth place finish thanks to a personal record 14:37.30. His previous mark was 14:52.72.
Maximilian Fridrich narrowly missed out on a top-ten finish, slotting into 11
th with a time of 14:42.98.
Jack Zettl brought it home in 15:01.01 to conclude Drake's participation in the opening night of the Relays.
The Bulldogs aim to continue their strong showing when action resumes Saturday. Field events are scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. while track action is slated for 9:00 a.m.
