TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Drake University track and field squads went toe-to-toe with some of the Missouri Valley Conference's best athletes at the MVC Outdoor Championships over the weekend. Both Drake men and women earned top six team finishes while producing a trio of Most Outstanding Performers.
 
Friday started with a dominant display in the field events as Centaine Noom-Duckworth and Chinemerem Iwuagwu went 1-2 in the women's hammer throw. Noom-Duckworth took the gold with a heave of 58.56m/192'-1" while Iwuagwu earned second at 57.48m/188'-7". On the men's side, Anthony Barmes set an MVC meet record at 68.52m/224'-9" to win the hammer throw title. Both Noom-Duckworth and Barmes earned Field Event Most Outstanding Performer honors for their efforts.
 
Elsewhere on Friday, freshman Christopher Norris narrowly missed the podium with a personal record of 54.92m/180'-2" in the javelin.
 
Friday's running events included another podium tandem for the Bulldogs. Carmen Krawczynski Gonzalez and Tyla Lumley both surpassed the facility record to earn second and third, respectively, in the women's 10000m run. Krawczynski Gonzalez ran a personal best of 35:08.96 while Lumley crossed the line in 35:17.85.
 
The bulk of Saturday's action on the track consisted of preliminary events leading into Sunday's finals. The only title race featured a second-place finish for Drake as Aziz Jdai took silver in the men's 3000m steeplechase with a mark of 8:56.92. Jdai came back later in the weekend for another podium finish as he ran 14:26.14 in the men's 5000m run.
 
Lara Smits kicked off the final day of the MVC Outdoor Championships with a third-place result in the women's discus. Smits earned her placing after releasing a throw of 49.18m/161'-4".
 
On the track, Emilie Meyer earned another silver medal for Drake as she ran a new personal record 2:06.35 in the women's 800m run. Isaac Basten, a previous MVC champion, did one better as the title winner in the men's 800m. Basten edged Drake Relays champion Jack Crull of Bradley to set a new facility record of 1:48.68. He was also named Track Most Outstanding Performer.
 
Brogan Giffin finished in fourth in the men's 1500m run with a time of 3:50.30, just .08 seconds away from third.
 
"We are stoked to close the Missouri Valley Championships in the fashion we did," Drake head coach Jay Koloseus said. "In the weeks leading up to this [meet] I challenged the teams to seize their opportunities, and that's exactly what we did. While being cautious with several NCAA qualifiers, we had athletes and relays step up to secure or exceed our pre-championship standings. The women had the highest team placing this century and the men own the highest private school finish in the league. I am very, very proud of our squads."
 
The Drake men finished fifth in the team race with 67 total points, while the women came in sixth after amassing 54 points. Indiana State, the meet hosts, won both titles.