WHAT'S AHEAD: The Drake women's track team, which set three school records and tied another at the Drake Relays last weekend, will compete in the Musco Twilight meet in Iowa City, Iowa, this Saturday.
CURTIS PLAYS KEY ROLE: Drake junior Ari Curtis (Fort Collins, Colo.) played a role in three of the school marks. Curtis ran the 800 leg on the distance medley relay that finished sixth in the women's university division Friday in 11 minutes 31.96 seconds to better theprevious school mark of 11:32.35 set in 1994.
Junior Casey McDermott (Newton, Iowa) got things started by running the open 1,200-meter leg followed by junior Beth Hamling (Council Bluffs, Iowa) running the 400, then Curtis and senior Nicole Braunsdorf (St. Francis, Wis.) anchoring the 1,600 leg.
Curtis came back Saturday morning to run the anchor on the shuttle hurdle relay which set a school mark of 59.74, breaking the school
record of 1:01.73 set in 2004. Other members of the record-setting shuttle hurdle relay were the freshmen trio of Marissa Smith (Ajax,
Ontario), Emily James (Clive , Iowa) and Sarah Yeager (Ottumwa, Iowa). Curtis set a school record in the 400 hurdles for the third time this
spring by placing sixth in 59.03 seconds, to lower her previous school mark of 59.27 set April 10 at the Jim Duncan Invitational.
Junior Johanna Sprang (New Brighton, Minn.) tied the school outdoor pole vault mark of 11 feet 7.75 inches en route to tying for 18th
place in the women's university-college field. The Drake women's track and field program has now set four outdoor school records this
spring, while tying another. Earlier, Curtis set a school record in the heptathlon with 4,998 points en route to a second-place finish at
the Kansas Relays.
PERSONAL BESTS: Casey McDermott and Nicole Braunsdorf each ran personal bests in the 1,500 to place fifth (4:28.48) and seventh
(4:28.81), respectively.
Freshman Briana Isom-Brummer (St. Louis, Mo.) opened the Drake Relays by finishing 11th in the heptathlon with a personal best of 4,404
points. Junior Meredith Bell (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) was 13th in the 10,000 in 38:14.66. Senior Tara Scieszinski (Albia, Iowa) ran a
personal best 38:35.01 to place 14th in the 10,000.
The Bulldogs were 22nd in the university sprint medley relay in 4:09.73 behind Hamling, Smith, senior Caitlin Able (Aurora, Colo.)
and junior Clarissa LaFlora (Kewanee, Ill.).
Drake assistant track and field coach Kelly Parriott won the Grand Blue Mile Corporate Challenge women's race in 5:41.76.
In qualifying heats, junior Cambria Pardner (Aurora, Colo.) was timed in 12.72 in the university-college 100, while Yeager and Smith were
clocked in 15.14 and 15.15, respectively.
