Following an arduous yet successful weekend at the Mount SAC Relays in California, 11 members of the men’s track team will compete this weekend in the Drake Relays Spring Classic in Des Moines, Iowa. As the Badger runners diverge for the weekend to compete in a number of events across the county, the team will send its finest to compete in the Drakes.
The list of competing athletes includes several runners coming off solid Mount SAC performances. Dan Murray, who dashed to a regional qualifying time of 1:49.02 in the 800-meter, is scheduled to contend in the 800 again this Saturday, in addition to racing in the sprint medley relay.
Competing at his third and final Drake, Murray hopes the Badgers can carry this year’s string of successes into Des Moines. He participated in a sixth-place finish in the sprint medley relay in 2002 and in the fourth-place crew the following year. This year Murray races with his best team yet.
“I think we’ll do really well. We have a really strong field,” Murray said. “We have a new sprinter, Demi [Amole], who of course will do really well because he’s extremely fast. We also have Joe Detmer on the quarter, who is an all-American as well. It’s a really strong team this year, so we should run some good times.”
Detmer, coming off a promising freshman season, also gears up to race the 400-meter hurdles. Senior Jon Mungan and sophomore Paul Check will both represent Wisconsin in the 110-meter hurdles after placing 13th and 19th, respectively, this past weekend.
“There’s a lot of good competition again this year,” Detmer said. “Last year we didn’t do as well as we hoped. But things have been going well, so I hope we can keep it going.”
Wisconsin will also send representatives to compete in the 4×400-meter relay, the 4×200-meter relay and the men’s special 4×100-meter relay.
In the highly competitive arena of the Drakes, Wisconsin will face the challenge of running outdoors against southern squads more accustomed to being off the turf.
“Having gone to Florida for a semester, I understand how they’re able to practice outside all year, but it really has no effect,” freshman sprinter Demi Amole said. “They say people from the Midwest can’t sprint as well, but we go to all the same meets they do. There’s basically no advantage or disadvantage; as long as we run, the times will come as they come.”
Amole returns to the track Friday to compete in the 100-meter dash prior to contending in the sprint medley relay with a pair of Drake veterans. The Milwaukee native carries momentum into Iowa following a scorching run of 10.35 in California, besting all but two Brazilian national runners. The Drake event gives the young sprinter the chance to compete with higher caliber runners in front of a large and active attendance.
“The environment basically is what I’m looking forward to,” Amole said. “I’ve heard a lot about the meet and I know there’s a big crowd. I always race well in front of big crowds.”
The meet, which takes place at Drake University just outside of downtown Des Moines, began in 1910 as a fledgling competition between high school and college teams from across the vast backwaters of Iowa. The Drakes has long since been established among the premier events in track and field, drawing competitors worldwide. Wisconsin track shares a particularly impressive history with the relays, stretching back to distance legend Don Gehrmann, who claimed the Outstanding Performer Award three times between 1949-1950.
The Badgers depart for Iowa on Thursday. Races commence at 11 a.m. Thursday and continue through Saturday, concluding with the four-man relays.
