Drake men and women win Ashford Invite
Story by Taylor Soule
The Drake men’s and women’s track teams both took first place at the Ashford Spring Invitational in Clinton, Iowa on Saturday. The Bulldog women won eight events, and the Bulldog men won seven to take the top spot among eight and nine teams, respectively.
In Drake women’s mid-distance action, sophomore Melissa Parks took first place in the 800 meters in a time of 2:22.90.
“It was my first outdoor 800 of the year, so it was just to see where I was at, physically,” Parks said.
Parks said the wind made Saturday’s meet difficult.
“It was pretty insanely windy, so my time wasn’t the best,” Parks said.
In women’s sprints, the Bulldogs registered wins in the 100 and 200-meters. Junior Danyelle Cole won the 100-meters in a time of 12.13.
Senior Whitney Westrum triumphed in the 200-meters in a time of 24.74. Cole crossed the line less than a minute later than Westrum in 25.43 to take second place.
Drake captured a pair of victories in hurdles action, too. Senior Sarah Yeager won the 100-meter hurdles in a time of 13.90. In the 400-meter hurdles, senior Briana Isom-Brummer finished first with a time of 1:03.16.
Two Bulldog women’s relays recorded the top times on Saturday. The 4×100-meter relay of junior Tiara Winston, Cole, sophomore Ariel Kinlow and Westrum finished first with a time of 47.89.
In 4×400-meter action, the Bulldogs recorded another top finish. The team of Yeager, Cole, freshman Virginia Hill and Westrum recorded a time of 4:02.85 to take first.
Drake recorded a single field victory in the triple jump, as freshman Kayla Bell finished first with a distance of 37-4.
In Drake men’s action, the Bulldogs captured seven wins. In distance action, freshman Ali Jindal claimed first in the 1,500-meters in a time of 4:10.74.
The Bulldog hurdlers claimed a pair of victories on Saturday, thanks to junior Travis Marsh. Marsh won both the 110-meter and 400-meter hurdles with times of 14.65 and 55.89, respectively.
Marsh contributed to another Bulldog win in the first-place 4×400-meter relay. The Drake team of Marsh, junior Ian Wells, senior Dan Karys and freshman Scott Goad finished first in a time of 3:20.48.
The Bulldogs won four field events on Saturday. Karys won the long jump with a distance of 23-3.5.
Senior Isaac Twombly won the discus with a toss of 149-6. Twombly won the hammer throw, too, with a top distance of 198-5.
Freshman David Silkman finished first in the javelin throw with a toss of 163-3.
The Bulldogs are back in action on Friday and Saturday at the Jim Duncan Invitational at Drake Stadium. The meet marks the first home competition for the Bulldogs this season.
Despite the windy conditions, Parks said the meet gave Drake a boost of confidence entering the Jim Duncan Invitational. Plus, the meet gave the Bulldog freshmen one last chance to calm any nerves before they compete at Drake Stadium for the first time.
“It was a good confidence booster,” Parks said. “It wasn’t the most competitive meet, but we competed just because it was close to home.”