Story by Taylor Soule

Drake track and field opened the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championship with a statement on Saturday, courtesy of senior thrower Isaac Twombly. Twombly shattered his own school record in the weight throw to win the event with a toss of 68-7.25.

Junior Andy Curtis finished ninth in the weight throw with a personal best toss of 60-8.00.

In preliminary action on the track, several Bulldogs registered promising performances.

Junior sprinter and hurdler Travis Marsh qualified for the 200-meter finals on Sunday with a preliminary time of 22.27 on Saturday. In the 60-meter hurdles, Marsh clocked a time of 8.07 to qualify for the finals.

A pair of Bulldogs qualified for the 400-meter finals. Junior Ian Wells led the way with a time of 49.35 seconds to take third. Junior Brett Wright finished in 49.55 seconds to claim eighth.

In distance competition, fifth-year senior Charlie Lapham qualified for Sunday’s 800-meter finals with a time of 1:55.08. The Bulldogs sit in fifth place after the first day of competition.

In Drake women’s action, seniors Sarah Yeager and Marissa Smith paced the Bulldogs with a 1-2 finish in the 60-meter hurdles, respectively. Yeager recorded a time of 8.41 to take the top spot. Smith finished just 0.08 seconds behind Yeager to take the second spot entering Sunday’s finals.

Senior sprinter Whitney Westrum qualified for the 400-meter finals with a time of 57.16.

Check back with The Times-Delphic on Thursday for the results of Sunday’s MVC finals.