WHAT'S AHEAD: The Drake men's cross country team will travel to Peoria, Ill., to compete in the NCAA Midwest Regional Saturday, Nov. 13. Bradley will host the event, which features 33 Division I teams from nine different states. The men's 10,000-meter race will start at 12:15 p.m. on the Newman Golf Course.
LAST YEAR: Drake finished 19th out of 30 squads in the 2009 NCAA Midwest Regional Championship held in Springfield, Ill. The Bulldogs placed ahead of Missouri Valley Conference rivals Bradley, Creighton and Northern Iowa. Oklahoma State won the men's regional with 50 points.
Then senior Jeff Grassmeyer led Drake finishing 50th in 32:31.7 for 10,000 meters. Then sophomore Derek Campbell (Sycamore, Ill.) finished 124th in 34:42.1, while then sophomore Colin Hagan (Wichita, Kan.) was 128th in 34:49.1 Then sophomore Ben Jaskowiak (Madison, Wis.) was 135th in 35:03.6.
A LOOK BACK: Drake placed fifth in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship Oct. 30 in Augusta, Kan.
Head coach Dan Hostager left the meet pondering what could have happened if three of his team's runners had finished the race. Freshman transfer Omet Kak (Des Moines, Iowa), freshman Brogan Austin (Boone, Iowa) and junior Charlie Lapham (Golden Valley, Minn.) withdrew at various stages of the 8,000-meter race costing Drake at least two places in the final team standings.
Indiana State won the meet with 25 points followed by Southern Illinois with 61, Illinois State with 75, Northern Iowa with 87 and Drake with 155 in the 10-team meet.
Kak was among the front group leaders before withdrawing at the 7,000-meter mark. Austin was among the top 20 runners at 5,000 meters before suffering side cramps which affected his breathing. Junior Colin Hagan was Drake's top finisher, placing 24th in the 8,000-meter race in 26 minutes 8.79 seconds. Drake junior Ben Jaskowiak was 26th in 26:14.29.
Mike Bumgarner (Rosemount, Minn.), who was Drake's lone senior competing, placed 28th in 26:22.41, while freshman Doug Brady (Englewood, Colo.) was 29th in 26:25.01. Sophomore transfer Tim Cornish (Wellington, New Zealand) was 50th in 27:22.54. Southern Illinois' Dan Dunbar won the individual title in 24:29.38.
