WHAT'S AHEAD: The Drake men's cross country team will have runners compete in two meets this weekend. The Bulldogs will run  in the Grand View Invitational at Ewing Park in Des Moines Friday as well as the Loyola Lakefront Invitational in Chicago, Ill., Saturday.  More than 40 teams are expected to compete in the 8,000-meter race in Chicago.

LAST YEAR: Then Drake senior Jeff Grassmeyer finished fifth out of 408 runners at the 2009 Loyola Lakefront Invitational, being clocked in 25 minutes 10 seconds matching his previous personal best in the event. Drake junior Mike Bumgarner (Rosemount, Min.) placed 42nd in 26:15, while sophomore Colin Hagan (Wichita, Kan.) was 52nd in 26:32.
Drake placed ninth overall in the 28-team men's division, tallying 252 points. Miami University won the team championship with 62 points

A LOOK BACK: Drake sophomore Omet Kak (Des Moines, Iowa) finished 69th overall out of 213 runners to help lead Drake to 17th in the Roy Griak Invitational Men's Gold Division race last Saturday at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in Minneapolis, Minn. Kak, a transfer from Northern Iowa, covered the 8,000-meter course in 25 minutes 45 seconds.

Two-hundred thirteen runners, representing more than 22 schools from across the country, helped comprise the strongest cross country field a young Drake team will face this fall.

Drake freshman Brogan Austin (Boone, Iowa) was 80th in 26:00, while junior Ben Jaskowiak (Madison, Wis.) was 103rd in 26:19. Drake sophomore Tim Cornish (Wellington, New Zealand) was 111th in 26:40, while freshman Doug Brady (Engelwood, Colo.) was 117th in 26:48.

The 21st-ranked Duke Blue Devils placed five runners among the top 25 to win the Men's Gold (Division I) race.  The individual champion was Arizona's Stephen Sambu, who broke away from the rest of the field to cross the finish line 23:40.7, well ahead of runner-up Nicholas Kipruto of New Mexico (23:59.6).

New Mexico (80 points) and North Carolina State (80) finished tied for second.