DES MOINES, Iowa ? The North Dakota State men's 4x800 relay team finished eighth at the 102nd Drake Relays on Friday, April 29. The Bison also sent a contingent of athletes to the Kip Janvrin Open in Indianola, Iowa.
The 4x800 relay team of sophomore Moses Heppner, redshirt freshman Alec Espeland, junior Andy Wendroth and senior Eric Stroh took eighth in 7 minutes 33.13 seconds. Their time ranks eighth all-time at NDSU.
NDSU also competed in the 4x400 and 4x100 relays at Drake, but both teams were disqualified. In the pole vault, both junior Joe Bredahl and sophomore Jesse Morrow failed to clear the opening height.
At the Kip Janvrin Open, freshman Dwight Finnell posted top eight finishes in both the 200 meters and 400 meters. He ran the 400 meters in 49.59 to place second and was sixth in the 200 meters in 22.30. Freshman Nate Mattson was sixth in the 100 meters in 11.03.
In the 1,500 meters, sophomore Daniel Merritt finished second in 4:05.48. Four Bison ? Andy Lillejord, Cody Gronvold, Bredahl and Morrow ? tied for second after clearing 15 feet 5 inches. Nolan Berg tied for sixth with a mark of 14-11.
Senior Sam Soholt finished in the top six in the discus and hammer. He was fifth in the hammer with a throw of 168-1 and sixth in the discus with a mark of 157-3.
In the steeplechase, senior Tom Wagner led four Bison in the top eight. Wagner was third with a time of 9:36.57. Junior Tyler Leverington took fourth in 9:44.33 and fellow junior Jake Henderson was fifth in 9:47.26. Junior Andy Fillmore placed seventh in 9:57.18.
NDSU concludes action at the Drake Relays Saturday with three relays as well as two individual events. Eric Stroh will run the 800 meters and Jeramy Geditz will compete in the high jump.
