April 28, 2011
DES MOINES, Iowa – The University of Iowa track and field teams opened the Drake Relays Thursday afternoon with the women’s 4×1,600 meter relay. The Hawkeyes took second in the event with a time of 19:17.52.
“It went pretty well,” junior Brooke Eilers said of the race. “I would have liked to run a little better and of course we would have liked to win, but considering we raced four days ago [at the Musco Twilight], it was pretty good.”
Junior Betsy Flood started on the gun for the Hawkeyes. Flood set a solid pace for the team, clocking a 4:44 mile. Eilers and McKenzie Melander ran strong through the middle two legs of the race. Eilers posted a 4:54 and Melander pushed the Hawkeyes into the lead with her time of 4:45. Senior Lauren Hardesty anchored the relay, running through the finish line to earn runner-up. The University of Minnesota took first place with a time of 19:06.52.
“The ladies ran tough,” said head coach Layne Anderson. “Any time you run a relay your goal is to get to the last leg, get to the bell lap with a chance to win it. We certainly did enough to put ourselves in that position, it just wasn’t our day. We have to put this behind us quickly. We have a big weekend ahead and all four of these ladies have more races to run.”
Iowa will have competitors on the track and in the field throughout the weekend. The Hawkeyes lead off Friday morning with the women’s 4×100 meter relay.