MEN’S
Without sophomore Brogan Austin and other heavy hitters competing this weekend, junior Dan Karys led the Drake men’s track and field team with his leaps in the long and triple jumps at the Jack Jennett Invitational at the University of Northern Iowa Dome last Saturday.
Karys was first in the long jump with a distance of 23 feet 3.5 inches, and second in the triple jump with a jump of 46 feet. Not far behind Karys was his teammate, sophomore Alex Kaster who earned fourth in the triple jump with a leap of 45 feet 5.25 inches.
In the 200-meter dash, senior Jon Degrave finished in second place with a time of 22.37 seconds. Junior Isaac Twombly, the school-record holder in the weight throw, had another big showing, finishing in second place with a distance of 58 feet 4.75 inches.
Finishing in fifth place was freshman Tyler Nelson in the one-mile run with a time of 4:25.39. Freshman Steven Jordan finished fourth in the 600-meter run with a time of 1:25.92.
The men’s 4-by-400-meter relay team consisting of sophomore Travis Marsh, senior Shaun James, DeGrave and Karys took second place with a time of 3:19.66.
The team looks to be back in full force at the Frank Sevigne Invitational in Lincoln, Neb., on Friday and Saturday.
WOMEN’S
Melissa Parks, a freshman from Norfolk, Neb., paced the women’s track team last weekend at the Jack Jennett Invitational at the UNI Dome on Saturday.
Parks lit up the scoreboard with a first place finish in the 1000-meter run with a time of 3:06.67. Parks is fresh off of a successful cross country season.
Finishing in second place in the 60-meter hurdles was junior Marissa Smith with a time of 8.66 seconds. Smith finished first in the preliminary rounds.
Freshman Jessica Mathes chalked up points in the 600-meter run with a third place finish with a time of 1:39.37.
The Drake women’s track team will travel to Lincoln, Neb. for the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational on Feb. 3 and 4.