Drake Track and Field: Distance runners push for top finishes at Standford

Drake long-distance runners Jeff Grassmeyer, Nicole Braunsdorf and Casey McDermott proved they could compete with some of the best competition in the country Friday when they raced in the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.

Grassmeyer, a fifth-year senior, finished fourth in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14 minutes, 25.20 seconds, just seven seconds behind Washington State’s Jono Lafler, who won the event with a 14:17.58.

This wasn’t Grassmeyer’s first impressive finish in the spring campaign. In the MVC Indoor Championships in February, Grassmeyer finished sixth in the conference in the 3,000-meter run.

On the women’s side, junior Casey McDermott impressed with a 17th place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, finishing with a time of 11 minutes, 14.07 seconds. McDermott is Drake’s all-time record holder in the event.

“Grassmeyer ran really well, but Casey struggled,” Head Coach Natasha Brown said. “Overall, there were some solid performances against some top national competition.”

Senior Nicole Braunsdorf finished 26th in the women’s 5,000-meter run, coming in at 16 minutes, 58.96 seconds. Southern Utah’s Sharla Manuele won the event with a time of 16:18.53.

The Bulldogs will be back in action next weekend with athletes competing in several different meets. The team will be competing in the Texas Relays from Thursday to Saturday in Austin, Texas. Some athletes will also be participating in the Duke Asics Invitational in Durham, N.C., on Friday and Saturday, and some will participate in the Central Invitational in Pella, Iowa on Saturday.

Now that the outdoor season is getting into full swing, the Bulldogs are inevitably looking forward to the Drake Relays, which take place on April 21-24. The MVC Championships take place a few weeks after, on May 13-16.

“There are better performances ahead,” Brown said. “And that’s exciting.”