 Drake students, faculty and staff gathered April 12 in Olmsted Center to congratulate 1998 Drake graduate Zach Johnson on his victory at the Masters. |
Drake Stadium hosts more big-time meets
This year’s Drake Relays were just the first lap in a five-week sprint that could very well be the busiest stretch in Drake’s 98 years of hosting track meets.
This month at the Drake Stadium:
• Drake Stadium will be the host site of the Missouri Valley Conference outdoor meet May 11-13 for the 11th time, but the first time since 1992.
• The largest high school track meet in the nation, the state coed track meet, will gather again in Des Moines May 17-19, with more than 4,400 athletes and 50,000 fans over three days.
• University teams from as far north as Minnesota and as far south as Corpus Christi, Texas, will send athletes back to Drake for the NCAA Midwest Regional May 25-26, looking to qualify for the NCAA championships. Drake will host next year’s NCAA meet. The first event each day is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Friday’s session will conclude with the finals in the women’s 5,000 at 7:50 p.m., while the last race on Saturday will start at 6:20 p.m. with the women’s 4×400 relay.
Johnson, Pettitt named to MVC All-Centennial Golf Team
Former Drake standout golfers Ben Pettitt and Zach Johnson have been named to the Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Golf All-Time Team in conjunction with the league’s Centennial Celebration.
Throughout the 2006-07 academic calendar, as a part of the Centennial Celebration, The MVC Office is naming all-centennial teams for each of the league’s sponsored sports.
Men’s golf, in particular, has a storied history in The Valley, producing five national team titles, nine NCAA tournament individual champions and, most recently, the 2007 Masters Champion — Zach Johnson of Drake.
Pettitt, a native of Carroll, Iowa, was a three-time All-MVC performer in 1996, 1997 and 1998. A nine-time MVC Golfer of the Week, Pettitt also was the medalist in both the 1997 and 1998 MVC Tournament.
Johnson, a 1998 Drake graduate and native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was a four-time MVC Golfer of the Week. Both Johnson and Pettitt helped lead Drake to the 1997 and 1998 MVC Tournament championships, as well as berths in the 1996 and 1997 NCAA Tournaments.
Drake students, faculty and staff gathered April 12 in Olmsted Center to congratulate Zach Johnson on his victory at the Masters. Drake sent a video and photograph of the celebration expressing Bulldog pride in Johnson’s great accomplishment and sent them in a care package filled with Drake apparel to Johnson and his family.