University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Drake Relays
Drake Relays: Panthers Repeat As 4x800 Champs
4/25/2008 8:00:00 AM | Track and Field
April 25, 2008
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Drake Relays Photo Gallery April 25, 2008
DES MOINES, Iowa - An outstanding anchor leg by junior Tyler Mulder powered the University of Northern Iowa to its second-consecutive Drake Relays championship in the men's 4x800-meter relay on Friday to cap off the third day of the 99th annual event. Junior Jack Ogden opened for the Panthers and handed to sophomore All-American Dorian Ulrey, who put UNI in the lead heading into the second exchange. Sophomore Mike Craddick took the handoff from Ulrey and kept the Panthers near the front, handing off to Mulder in third place after a split of 1:53.50. Mulder, the defending NCAA indoor 800 meters champion, put the Panthers back on point with 100 meters to go, passing Notre Dame's Kurt Benninger and finishing his anchor leg in 1:48.70. The Panthers finished in 7:28.98, with the Irish second in 7:30.74 and Wisconsin taking third in 7:31.36. "This is always a big goal," said Mulder of winning at Drake. "When we're making goals, it's (the Drake Relays) and conference and nationals. They're some of the biggest college meets." Also Friday, the Panthers advanced both their men's and women's 4x400-meter relay teams into Saturday's finals, highlighting the Panthers' performance in the early session of a cold and blustery Friday. The Panthers also posted a pair of qualifying marks for the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships on a day when afternoon temperatures dipped into the low 40s at Drake Stadium. The quartet of Dani Stipe, Kara Yahn and Amy Bagge turned in the second-fastest time in school history in the preliminaries of the women's 4x400 relay, clocking in at 3:41.66. The time gave UNI the third-best preliminary time and puts the Panthers in Saturday's 4x400 final, which is set for 5:51 p.m., as well as earning them a spot in the Midwest Regional. Arkansas posted the top time at 3:39.92, followed by Louisiana Tech's 3:40.65. Carruthers led off with a 55.62-second split and handed off to Stipe, who turned her lap in 54.82. Yahn then clocked a split of 55.95 before Bagge anchored the Panthers home in 55.42. The time was exactly two seconds off the school-record time of 3:39.66 set in 2007 by a team that also featured Stipe and Carruthers. The Panther men also ran their way into the 4x400 finals, with the team of Dennis Hammel, Cory Goos, Ryan Grenko and Terrance Reid clocking in at 3:10.43. The effort fell just short of the NCAA regional standard of 3:10.00 but gave UNI the second-best overall time heading into the finals, which will serve as the concluding event for the Drake Relays at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Baylor's time of 3:10.24 gave the Bears the top preliminary time. For the Panthers, Hammel led off with a split of 48.54 and passed the baton to Goos, who clocked a 47.20-second lap before handing off to Grenko, who turned his lap in 47.58. Reid provided the anchor leg in 46.83. Junior Marcin Kazubowski made his first - and still only - throw of the season count in the men's javelin, qualifying for NCAA regional competition with an effort of 206 feet, 5 inches. Kazubowski, who had not competed since last year's NCAA Midwest Regional, surpassed the regional qualifying mark on his first attempt and then passed on his final two chances to avoid further injury to the sore hamstring that has kept him sidelined so far this outdoor season. Kazubowski's lone throw was good enough for an eighth-place finish in the event, which Georgia's Chris Hill won with a Drake Relays and Drake Stadium-record throw of 268-1. The Panthers took sixth place in the women's 4x200 relay to begin the evening session at Drake Stadium, with the quartet of Olimpia Nowak, Dani Stipe clocking in at 1:39.33. Sophomore Mike Beese was seventh in the men's pole vault, clearing 15 feet, 7 inches as part of a field that battled 25 mph winds throughout the competition. Also, sophomore Rozle Bucalo took ninth in the men's long jump, posting a leap of 23-3 1/2. In the women's high jump, the UNI duo of senior Crystal Hanson and freshman Rachel VanderHolt finished 13th and 14th. Hanson matched her season-best mark with a clearance at 5-7, while VanderHolt cleared 5-5. The Panthers' entry in the men's 4x100 relay clocked in at 41.96, but the team of Alvin Cole, Jamie Wieck, Carruthers and Kosmacek-Simon also failed to advance to the final after posting a prelim time of 47.42. Senior Jarrel Anderson took part in the preliminaries of the 110-meter hurdles and finished with the 15th-fastest time, clocking in at 14.59. In the women's 100-meter hurdles, senior Kara Yahn turned in a time of 13.96 to post the 11th-fastest preliminary time. UNI continues competition at the Drake Relays on Saturday, beginning with the preliminaries of the women's shuttle hurdle relay at 8:11 a.m.
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