STORY BY ADAM ROGAN
Drake track faced off against conference opponents Wichita State, University of Northern Iowa and Indiana State in the Jack Jennet Invitational this past Saturday in Cedar Falls. The Bulldogs took fourth as a team on the men’s and women’s side of the track, Indiana State leaving victorious for both.
Freshman Rai Ahmed-Green placed second for the women in the 200-meter sprint with a time of 25.47, but still was not pleased with how the team performed.
“The bus was quiet riding home because we all just felt like we could’ve done better,” Ahmed-Green said.
Coach Natasha Brown felt differently about the meet, feeling pleased with how her team performed.
“Actually, it did go really well for us because we’re the only private school in that mix, so we have the smallest roster,” Brown said. “So going in, I was really impressed with what our women did, because they were pretty much in contention.”
Not only was Brown proud of the women’s team as a whole, but was especially glad to see how Ahmed-Green has been panning out in her first season competing at the collegiate level.
“It’s really hard to come into our conference as a freshman and even really have a personal best run, and (Rai) has already done that,” Brown said. “I expect more from her. And honestly I don’t think she’s done. I think she’s finally getting in shape and understanding how to race,” Brown said.
Danyelle Cole finished third in both the 60-meter and the 200-meter sprints, as did Mary Young in the 60-meter hurdles. The Bulldogs also took third place in both the 4×400-meter and distance medley relays.
The only Bulldog win on the day was Samantha Nielson’s victory in the 800-meter, logging a time of 2:13.83.
For the men, Pierce Vincent and Steven Jordan each took third in the 60-meter and 200-meter, respectively.
No field athlete for the Bulldogs placed, but Jaclyn Aremka and Ryan Cook each took home fourth place honors in the high jump.
Ethan Turner set his personal best in the long jump, leaping 20 feet, 9 inches, while struggling in the triple jump with a distance of 43 feet, 7 3/4 inches, each landing him in eighth place. Turner thinks that the team needs to adjust their mentality if they hope to improve as the season continues.
“If you set your standards higher than what you think they should be you’ll accomplish higher things,” Turner said. “I think that kind of is an echo that goes around the entire team where we should probably be doing a lot more in terms of standard setting and setting goals.”
The team’s next competition is this weekend at the Frank Sevigne Husker
