At last weekend’s invite in Iowa City, the Drake teams were able to post some of their most impressive results of the season.

The men’s team was led by freshman Dan Karys and senior Jeff Grassmeyer. Karys took third in the triple jump with a distance of 45 feet, 3.5 inches. Grassmeyer finished fourth in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 3 minutes, 51.40 seconds.

Sophomore Shaun James, senior Josh Bangert and freshman Kevin Harp also earned top five finishes in their events.

The women’s side was led by a multitude of strong performances.

On the track, senior Nicole Braunsdorf placed third in the 1,500 while junior Casey McDermott finished third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

The Bulldogs had even more success in the field events, as senior Deidra Dirth finished second in discus while junior Cambria Pardner finished second in the triple jump.

Junior Tyse Samani, freshman Sarah Yeager, freshman Marissa Smith and junior Ari Curtis also finished in the top six in their events.

The team will split up between the Oregon Twilight and Nebraska Open meets. These meets will be the final meets of the season before the Valley championships, but the extra meets aren’t the hardest part of preparing for the championships. In true student-athlete fashion, finals week will pose the biggest hurdle for the track teams.

“Having finals right before conference is by far the most stressful part about the season,” Curtis said. “Between studying for finals, preparing for the meet and moving out of the dorms, everything happens all at once.”

To balance the stress of finals, both the men’s and women’s track teams will be tapering down their practices so their bodies are fresh and prepared for conference.

Sophomore distance runner Colin Hagan said that his goal is to stay relaxed and get enough rest before conference.

“Right now all the hard work is done,” he said. “I just have to add the finishing touches.”

Hagan is hoping that the finishing touches will help lead the Drake team to placing at the top of the conference.

“I don’t care about anything other than placing in a position that scores points for the team,” said Hagan.

Curtis said that this team has a much better chance than recent teams in memory to be the best in the Valley. She is proud of how far the team has come this year and believes that great things will be coming at this year’s championships and into the future.

“Our team is more positive, more enthusiastic and thus more successful,” she said.

The Missouri Valley Conference championships take place at Illinois State in Normal, Ill. The meet will start on May 13 and finish on May 17.

Overcoming obstacles is vital to success in track and field, and sophomore Jon DeGrave took advantage of an opportunity to win the first heat in the college 400-meter hurdles in the Drake Relays on Saturday.

DeGrave was in second place when he and leader Ben Zill of Wisconsin-Oshkosh stumbled over a hurdle in the final straightaway of the race. DeGrave kept his balance better than his opponent and went on to win the heat with a personal best time of 51.50 seconds.

“I was getting really tired, but then I kind of realized I had a chance to catch him,” DeGrave said. “(Zill) caught it (the hurdle) worse than I did. I just thought, ‘sprint as hard as you can.’”

Overall, DeGrave finished fifth in the three- heat event. Lee Moore of Mississippi won the event with a time of 50.23 seconds.

“Hopefully next year I’ll be in the fast heat,” DeGrave said. “I’m looking forward to improv- ing next year and the year after.”

Also competing in the 400 hurdles for Drake was junior Ari Curtis, who had set school re- cords in her first two tries competing in the event. Curtis ran in the final heat, which con- sists of the fastest runners in the event. Despite finishing fourth in her race and sixth overall, Curtis set another Drake record with a time of 59.03 seconds, breaking the previous record she set at the Jim Duncan Invitational.

“I didn’t run as fast as I wanted, but I can’t complain about a personal best,” Curtis said.

Erica Moore of Indiana State won the event with a time of 57.21 seconds.

DeGrave and Curtis were not the only two Bulldogs to perform their best in the na- tion’s biggest track meet. Senior Jeff Grass- meyer placed seventh in the university-college 1,500-meter run with a personal best time of 3 minutes, 49.88 seconds.

Curtis also helped the women’s team to a historic Relays showing, playing her part in set- ting three school records and tying another in a four-day period.

In addition to the 400 hurdles, Curtis ran the 800-meter leg of the distance medley relay, which finished sixth and broke the Drake re- cord of 11 minutes, 32.35 seconds set in 1994. This Bulldog team, which also consisted of ju- niors Casey McDermott and Beth Hamling and senior Nicole Braunsdorf, finished the race in 11:31.96.

Curtis teamed up with freshmen Marissa Smith, Emily James and Sarah Yeager to set a school record in the shuttle hurdle relay with a time of 59.74 seconds. The previous time was 1:01.73 set in 2004.

Junior Johanna Sprang tied the Drake out- door pole vault mark with a jump of 11 feet, 7.75 inches and placed 18th overall.

But what sets Drake Relays apart is the amount of talent that flocks to Des Moines, and this past weekend did not disappoint.

Eighteen records were set over the three-day meet, including 12 on Saturday. Five of those were world records, and it was the 45th straight year that Relays had a sold out crowd on Sat- urday.

“To run in front of all these people is really, really fun,” Curtis said. “It shows how many people support Drake track.”

This year will mark the first running of the Grand Blue Mile in downtown Des Moines.

The race will begin at the intersection of 17th Street and Locust and finish at 3rd Street and Lo­cust. The route will have a scenic view of down­town Des Moines, passing the Pappajohn Sculpture Park, the downtown Des Moines Public Library, The Des Moines Register building and the Nollen Plaza.

The run will replace the pole-vaulting competi­tion as the event away from Drake Stadium. The last two years, a special pole-vaulting competition was held inside the Jordan Creek Town Center in addition to the pole vaulting held at Drake Sta­dium. The competition will still be held at Drake Stadium and only women’s pole-vaulting will be returning to Jordan Creek this year.

“We did high jump downtown for two years, then pole vaulting out at Jordan Creek for two years; this year it will be the Grand Blue Mile,” said Director of Drake Relays Brian Brown. “We wanted to try something new and fresh.”

The downtown street run is open for runners at any level, from beginners to professionals.

“Street runs are going up in popularity,” Brown said. “Literally anyone can get involved.”

There will be an open community division, a wheelchair or handcycle division, an open division for men and women who can run a sub-nine–min­ute mile, and a men’s and women’s invitational championship. In addition, there will be a 1/4-mile run for kids in the Iowa Kidstrong program.

The street-mile run is different than the 1,500-meter race because it is one straight mile in­stead of turns, and there is a slight elevation change throughout the race.

Don’t know how to train for a running event? No problem. Olympians Suzy Favor Hamilton and Steve Scott provide training tips on the Grand Blue Mile Web site at grandbluemile.com.

Scott won the U.S. men’s 1,500-meter title six times and holds the U.S. Outdoor mile record with a time of 3:47.69. Favor Hamilton competed in the Olympic Games in 1992, 1996 and 2000. She was the 2000 U.S.A. Track and Field Distance Runner of the Year.

These tips include a running program, nutrition schedule and a video on choosing the right shoes for your feet.

“Exercise is the best way to achieve health and fitness,” Scott said in a video on the Web site. “It’s like that perfect distance; anybody can run a mile.”

If not competing in the race, fans and support­ers can line the streets to cheer and encourage the athletes.

“I think people are going to really enjoy the event,” Brown said. “The Relays have an overall world-class group of competitors this year.”

The event is being presented by the Drake Relays along with Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Asics and Powerade. The official start time for tomorrow is 5:30 p.m.

With the Kidstrong Run and the last race, the men’s invitational championship is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

DES MOINES RUNS

1. ON-THE-ROADS 8K & HALF MARATHON
   Date: April 24 at 8 a.m.
   Fee: $25 for the 8K, $30 for the 1/2 marathon
   Deadline: April 21
   Start: Drake Stadium
   Cause: Drake Relays
2. C.A.R.E. 5K & 10K
   Date: May 1 at 8 a.m.
   Fee: $20 for either event
   Deadline: 30 minutes before start time
   Start: Waukee, Iowa
   Cause: Organ, eye and tissue donation awareness
3. TULIP TIME KLOMPEN CLASSIC 5K
   Date: May 5 at 7 p.m.
   Fee: $20 prior to race day, $25 for day-of registration
   Deadline: 15 minutes before start time
   Start: Pella, Iowa

   Cause: Crossroads of Pella

THE BULLDOG RLEAY TEAMS clocked their best time in the 4-by-400 relay at 3:50.38, finishing second at the Jim Duncan Invite. The 4-by-100 relay team finished in 47.62 seconds, earning the win in the event. Photo: Connor McCourtney

Junior Ari Curtis broke her own school record in the 400-meter hurdles Saturday at the Jim Duncan Invitational at Drake Stadium. Curtis has now run the event twice in her career, and both times has set Drake records.

Curtis finished with a time of 59.27 seconds, making her the first woman in Drake history to break the minute mark in the event. Her previous best was exactly 1:00.00.

Curtis also competed with the Bulldogs’ 4-by-400 meter relay team, which finished second with a time of 3:50.38, a season best.

Junior Beth Hamling also pulled double duty, running in the 4-by-400 and winning the 400-meter run with a time of 55.96 seconds, a personal record. She also finished third in the 200-meter sprint. Senior Caitlin Able ran the second leg of the 4-by-400 and finished third in the 400-meter run.

In women’s long distance, junior Kara McCartney finished second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:14.70. Fellow junior Casey McDermott clocked in at 2:15.02, good enough for fourth place.

Senior Tara Scieszinski finished third in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 17:53.83 while junior Meredith Bell finished in 18:09.06, grabbing a fifth-place finish.

In field events, junior Tyse Samani tied with teammate Michelle Mitchell for fifth in the high jump at 5 feet, 1 inch. The performance was not up to par for Samani, who has continually completed jumps of 5 feet 5 inches or 5 feet 7 inches all season. Freshman Briana Isom-Brummer also jumped 5 feet 1, inch but tied for seventh.

Senior Deidra Dirth was the star on Friday for the Bulldogs when she finished second in the discus throw with a 155-foot 9 inch throw.

Sophomore Jon DeGrave highlighted action for the men, running the fastest 400-meter hurdle time this year in the Missouri Valley Conference at 52.60 seconds.

Freshman jumper Dan Karys had an impressive performance in the field, claiming second in the long jump and third in the triple jump.

Sophomore Shaun James continued his momentum in the 100 and 200—both of which he won last weekend—by finishing second and third, respectively.

James and DeGrave also teamed up with senior Troy Kimberlin, who finished third in the 400, and junior Brandon Lewis to grab third place in the 4-by-400 with a time of 3:19.88.

In long distance, senior Jeff Grassmeyer finished third in the 1,500 with a time of 3:55.29. Sophomore Charlie Lapham finished fifth in the event and sophomore Colin Hagan finished seventh.

After finishing competition this weekend, the Bulldogs have just one weekend of action before the Drake Relays. Next weekend the team will send athletes to four different meets: the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., the John McDonnell Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., the Beach Invitational in Norwalk, Calif., and the Hawkeye Invitational in Iowa City.

While some of the athletes will get the chance to compete in the 101st Drake Relays, the Bulldogs are also looking forward to competing as a full team at the MVC Championships on May 13-16.

SOPHOMORE DEREK CAMPBELL AND JUNIOR LUKE SCHAFER round the turn during the 10,000-meter run event Saturday. Campbell took second place with a time of 32:29.31 and Schafer took sixth with a time of 33:17.14. Photo: Nicole Braunsdorf

DRAKE TRACK ATHLETES use the final meets leading up to the Drake Relays to work out the kinks in their events. The team will have four more meets before the Relays, including the Hawkeye Invite in Iowa City, Iowa. Photo: Nicole Braunsdorf

The Bulldog track and field teams continued their campaign toward the upcoming Drake Relays and Missouri Valley Conference Championships with strong individual and team performances at the Tom Botts Invitational in Columbia, Mo., and the Central Invitational in Pella, Iowa.

The highlight of the weekend came when junior sprinter Ari Curtis set the Drake school record in the 400-meter hurdles in her first-ever race in the event. Clocking in at 1 minute flat, Curtis broke Julie Head’s 10-year-old record of 1:00.59.

“That was pretty sweet,” Head Coach Natasha Brown said in an official press release. “Ari ran the race as if she had done it all her life. You would have never known it was her first time.”

As if breaking a school record wasn’t enough, Curtis also helped the Drake 4-by-100 meter relay team finish third with a time of 48.48 seconds and fourth in the 4-by-400 meter team with a time of 3 minutes, 53.14 seconds.

Curtis wasn’t the only athlete on the women’s side to have an impressive weekend.

Junior high jumper Tyse Samani won the high jump with a 5 foot, 5 inch leap. Fellow junior high jumper Michelle Mitchell finished third with a 5 foot, 3 inch jump.

Freshman Marissa Smith finished second in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14:52 seconds.

Junior Beth Hamling did her best Ari Curtis impression and finished fourth in the 400-meter run, then competing on the same 4-by-100 and 4-by-400 relay teams.

Due to bad weather Friday, all but two events had to be moved to Saturday. Senior Courtney Hein didn’t let it bother her, however, finishing fourth in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase before the meet was delayed.

At the Central Invitational, Drake’s freshmen women took center stage. Kelly Hendricks won the women’s 100-meter run and Elle Yesnes finished third in the 5,000-meter.

For the men at the Central Invitational, sophomore Matt Jurysta led the way with a second place finish in the 1,500-meter with a time of 4:09.07. Sophomore Derek Campbell and junior Adam Oestreich finish third and fourth, respectively, in the 5,000-meter.

The men also had many encouraging performances at the Tom Botts Invitational. Leading the way for the Bulldogs was sophomore sprinter Shaun James, who won both the 100 and 200-meter sprints, finishing in 10.87 and 21 seconds, respectively.

“Shaun’s speed is really improving and I can tell he is testing his limits,” Brown said in the press release. “I expect he will drop even more time as he becomes more confident with his ability.”

Senior Josh Bangert finished second in the long jump on Friday, one of only three men’s events that were completed due to weather. Bangert’s jump was 21 feet, 8.25 inches. Freshman Dan Karys finished third, falling two inches shy of Bangert’s mark.

Karys completed a successful weekend the next day when he won the triple jump with a distance of 45 feet, 9.75 inches, a personal best. Junior AJ Fajimolu finished second.

Senior distance runner Jeff Grassmeyer finished seventh in the 1,500-meter with a time of 4 minutes, 0.81 seconds, but said afterward that he was disappointed in his time.

“My race did not go as planned,” Grassmeyer said. “I went out extremely slow the first half, so any hope for a good time was pretty much gone by then. I didn’t run a smart race tactically, and the results show that.”

The Bulldogs will return next weekend at Drake Stadium competing in the Jim Duncan Invitational.

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.”

THE TRACK TEAM will begin it’s spring season this weekend. The s quad will split up between the Missouri Relays in Columbia, Mo., and the Stanford Invite in Palo Alto, Calif. Photo: Sarah Andrews

Running, jumping and hurdling their way out of the winter season, the Drake track and field team is ready to start the spring season and feel the heat of the sun on the big blue track.

Surprising Missouri Valley Conference competition in the indoor season, the Bulldogs look to have a strong outdoor showing. Head Coach Natasha Brown is excited about the upcoming outdoor season and the exuberance that her team shows.

“We are a fairly young team, but with a lot of potential for success in the Missouri Valley and NCAA (meets),” Brown said.

Helping ease the transition from fluorescent light to sunlight, Brown scheduled a trip to the Dr. Pepper Invitational in Waco, Texas, during the spring break week. While the rest of the Drake community was either lounging at home watching March Madness or soaking up some rays in Florida, the track team was preparing in the Texas heat.

“We went down to Texas to get away from the snow and actually start training in the warmth, but on Saturday the meet got canceled on account of the snow rolling in from the west,” said Brown.

The lack of actual times and competition in Waco also leaves a sort of gray area for Drake coaches.

“We weren’t really able to gauge how our team matches up individually, just a rough outline,” Brown said.

Weather permitting, the team will have to find out its true potential this weekend as they split up and head to both the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. and the Missouri Relays in Columbia, Mo.

“It will be nice to get out and start getting in the zone for the rest of the season,” said sophomore distance runner Derek Campbell. “It will be a lot nicer than having four walls around you at all times.”

Many of the athletes have been looking forward to this weekend to test out their prospects. Although the team was set to participate in the Missouri Relays last year, the event was rained out. It is a new experience for the young team.

“Jeff Grassmeyer, Nicole Braunsdorf, Josh Bangert, Jon DeGrave, Ari Curtis and a few others (will go) to the Stanford meet to test their luck against other top Division I athletes,” Brown said.

She likes how the team is looking at this point in time but only down the line will the team see the benefits of the Waco trip. Gearing up for the Drake Relays and constantly improving for the NCAA championships is the biggest goal for the team as they get off to the running start of the spring track season.

DRAKE TRACK ATHLETES who competed in the MVC Championships brought back strong performances. Photo: Sarah Andrews

Junior Tyse Samani’s victory in the women’s high jump highlighted the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships for the Drake track and field teams last weekend at the UNI-Dome.

Samani’s leap of 5 feet, 7 inches tied her for highest of the season. Winning the event helped the women’s team surpass Northern Iowa to grab sixth place overall in the meet.

“The score does not reflect the effort my team put forth,” Head Coach Natasha Brown said. “Beating UNI was huge but we really competed well and fought for our points.”

Junior Michelle Mitchell also impressed in the high jump, finishing ninth with a jump of 5 feet, 5 inches.

The other standout performance on the women’s side was junior Ari Curtis’ second place finish in the pentathlon. Curtis totaled 3,739 points in the event and won the final two events—the long jump and 800-meter run—to clinch second place. Her performance also means that she provisionally qualifies for the NCAA National Indoor Championships.

First-year athlete Briana Isom-Brummer finished seventh in the pentathlon, which Brown found impressive for a freshman.

“It is difficult to score in the pent(athlon) that young,” Brown said.

The women’s team also had some stellar performances on the track. Senior Nicole Braunsdorf finished fourth in the mile with a time of 4:56.82 seconds, while junior Casey McDermott finished fifth in 4:57.74.

Brausdorf and McDermott also finished back-to-back in the 5000-meter run. Braunsdorf’s 17:35.06 was good enough for third and McDermott grabbed fourth with a time of 17:44.13.

Drake’s 4×400 relay team—composed of freshman Sarah Yeager, Curtis and seniors Caitlin Able and Clarissa LaFlora—finished sixth with a season-best time 3:53.08.

“It was by far the best conference meet for the women,” Brown said. “It was incredible. In every event the Drake team competed well and made it tough for others to score.”

The men placed sixth out of the six competing teams, but it was not due to a lack of impressive performances.

Once again sophomore Jon DeGrave proved to be the most valuable athlete on the men’s side, finishing third in the 400-meter dash—including a dive at the finish line—and anchoring the men’s 4×400 relay team, which finished fourth. Seniors Kevin Earl, Brandon Lewis and Anthony Pettaway joined DeGrave to finish with a time of 3:20.73.

Senior Jeff Grassmeyer finished seventh in the mile with a time of 4:19.49, tenth in the 5,000-meter run in 14:51.97 and sixth in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:43.37, but said he was a little disappointed with his performance.

“I can’t really fault my effort,” Grassmeyer said. “I thought I competed well and put myself in position to succeed, it just didn’t happen that way.”

Grassmeyer said that despite his disappointment, however, the meet does not take away from what he has already accomplished.

“It’s over with and it’s time to focus on the outdoor season, which is just around the corner.”

Perhaps the most interesting story of the meet was senior Josh Bangert’s improbable second-place finish in the long jump. Despite struggling with a hamstring injury, Bangert unleashed an impressive 23-foot-10-inch jump that made him the only competitor in the top five who was not from Wichita State.

Other impressive finishes for the men’s team included sophomore Shaun James’ seventh-place finish in the 200-meter dash and freshman Charlie Lapham’s sixth-place finish in the 800-meter run. Brown said that both James and Lapham are examples of why Drake track and field has an exciting future ahead.

“I thought the team competed very well this weekend,” Grassmeyer said. “We had some awesome performances and very few setbacks, which is all you can hope for at conference.”

The Bulldogs start the outdoor season on March 20 at the Dr. Pepper Invitational in Waco, Texas.

It was the teams’ last warm ups before next week’s State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships.

Sophomore Jon DeGrave stole the show on the track, winning the 400-meter and running the first leg for the Bulldogs’ event-winning 4×400 relay team. DeGrave clocked in with a time of 50.34 seconds in the 400-meter, beating Central College’s Kyle Wood by four-tenths of a second.

The 4×400 team, made up of DeGrave, freshman Dan Karys and seniors Anthony Pettaway and Kevin Earl, also nudged out Central with a time of 3 minutes, 24.43 seconds. Pettaway also finished 16th in the 200-meter dash and 10th in the long jump.

The men’s team wasn’t the only Drake 4×400 meter team that saw success on Friday. The women’s squad, composed of senior Caitlin Able, and juniors Beth Hamling, Kara McCartney and Clarissa LaFlora, also brought home first place with a time of 4 minutes.

Able, like DeGrave, also won the 400-meter run in 59.56 seconds and ran the opening leg of the 4×400 relay.

The Bulldogs also dominated the longer distance events, especially in the mile. Sophomore Ben Jaskowiak won the event while the Bulldogs placed three runners in the top seven, and Nicole Braunsdorf took home top honors on the women’s side.

Jaskowiak finished with a time of 4:29.15, narrowly edging out teammate Colin Coomer who came in at 4:29.19. First-year Mike Rodriguez finished in 4:35.61, good enough for seventh.

Senior and team leader Jeff Grassmeyer did not race to rest for next week’s MVC Championship.

“I took the weekend off,” Grassmeyer said. “I already qualified for next weekend and didn’t need another warm-up.”

Braunsdorf won the women’s mile with a time of 4 minutes, 58.68 seconds—the only runner to run an under a five-minute mile.

“It was an impressive mile,” Head Coach Natasha Brown said. “She led start to finish.”

The off week for some of Drake’s top athletes allowed some non-regulars to get some experience, and Grassmeyer was impressed by their efforts.

“I thought there were good performances across the board,” Grassmeyer said. “It’s a smaller meet, but I thought we did well.”

Other winners for Drake included junior Ari Curtis in the 60-meter hurdles and senior Josh Bangert in the long jump.

“Bangert had a good jump,” Brown said. “Especially coming off a four-week rehab for a strained hamstring.”

Junior high jumper Tyse Samani tied her best jump of the year with a 5-foot-7-inch leap that won the event.

The Bulldogs also had some success in the women’s pole vault, as juniors Molly Scott and Johanna Sprang tied for third with a height of 10 feet, 11.75 inches.

Sophomore Shaun James had an impressive day, finishing third in the 60-meter hurdles with 7.03 seconds and fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.37 seconds.

The Bulldogs will return to the UNI Dome next weekend to compete in the MVC Indoor Championships, the conclusion of the indoor season. The meet starts on Saturday and lasts two days.

“We’ll be ready to go,” Grassmeyer said. “It’s one of the biggest meets of the year. We plan our training around it, but we don’t put all our cards in the same basket. You don’t know how it’s going to turn out, but we’re ready and I feel good about it.”

SENIOR RUNNER ANTHONY PETTAWAY began his athletic career as a football player, but continued athletics at Drake with track and field. Pettaway said he looks forward to the snow melting before the outdoor season starts. Photo: Sarah Andrews

Senior Anthony Pettaway was not supposed to be a Divi­sion I track and field athlete. In fact, you’d be more likely to find an athlete of his size and stature on a football field.

“At 225 pounds, I’m the heaviest sprinter you’ll find,” Pet­taway said.

Pettaway, too, thought he’d end up in a different sport than the one he came to Drake to participate in.

“Football was definitely my first passion,” Pettaway said. “I always had my mind set on playing football.”

But a confrontation with his high school football coach led to a change of heart, “and that’s when I got into track and field.”

Despite his affinity for football, Pettaway has a lot of re­spect and passion for what track and field entails.

“Track and field means hard work, dedication and leader­ship,” he said.

Pettaway’s best memory of the sport at Drake occurred during Drake Relays his sophomore year, when he had an ex­cellent time in the 4×200 relay: a record that Pettaway hopes to beat this year.

As for Relays, Pettaway is setting the bar very high for himself.

“I expect myself to do pretty well. I’ve worked hard and I’ve been injury-free,” Pettaway said. “In past years I’ve had nagging injuries, so I hope this year I can go pretty far.”

Head Coach Natasha Brown, who is both the women’s and men’s head coach, has enjoyed coaching Pettaway.

“Working with Anthony has been a lot of fun. He’s such a great guy to have around,” Brown said. “He comes to prac­tice every day and calls me ‘Ms.’ not coach. He’s the only one that does that.”

Brown also discussed Pettaway’s size and his work ethic.

“No matter what I tell him to work on, he does it. An­thony’s been a lot of fun to coach,” said Brown. “And it’s funny how big he is for sprinting. He’s got so much power; he’s a good-sized guy and a football player.”

A Colorado Springs native, Pettaway refers to coming to Drake as “pure fate” and admits to missing his family more than anything, as well as the weather back home.

“I miss my family, that’s the main part. And there’s no humidity.” Pettaway said.

Sincere, candid and dedicated, Pettaway has certainly been an important part of the success the men’s track and field team has enjoyed the last couple of years and has formed a lot of significant relationships with the track team.

“My closest friend would be (junior) Clarissa LaFlora,” Pettaway said. “We’ve been friends since my sophomore year and we can always talk to each other no matter what.”

When he’s not practicing track and field, Pettaway en­joys working out, playing video games and of course, playing football in his spare time.

“I would be a quarterback or a defensive end, definitely,” Pettaway said.

A senior marketing major with a management concentra­tion, Pettaway may be facing an even bigger transition in the summer after graduation. Pettaway has been engaged since Valentine’s Day of 2009 and will be getting married in Au­gust.

Upon graduation, Pettaway is planning on attending Pittsburgh State University for graduate school to continue the off-field success he’s had at Drake.