Drake hurdler competes on the Blue Oval in the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships
Jon DeGrave earned honorable mention All-American honors in the 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Drake Stadium on Wednesday. (Watch the race.)
“This is a huge motivation for me,” DeGrave says. “My goal already for next year is to make it back to the national semifinals. Luckily, next year Drake is hosting, and I can use this experience to put down an even better performance.”
A senior finance major from Lake Villa, Ill., DeGrave is a two-time Missouri Valley Conference champion in the 400-meter hurdles.
He earned the right to compete at the championships thanks to his quarterfinal effort in the 400-meter hurdles held in May at the NCAA West Regional in Eugene, Ore.
DeGrave was joined by teammates Brogan Austin, Kevin Harp and Omet Kak at the West Regional competition.
Austin, a sophomore math education major from Boone, Iowa, ran in the semifinals of the 10,000-meter race, placing 36th and finishing with a time of 30:28.59.
Harp competed in the preliminary rounds of the javelin throw. He is a junior business major from Iowa City, Iowa, and Drake’s school record holder for javelin, setting a score of 208 feet and 7 inches at the 102nd running of the Drake Relays.
Kak, a sophomore biology and secondary education major from Des Moines, came in 41st in the preliminary round of the 1500-meter race, clocking in at 3:51.87.
The NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be held through June 11 at Drake. Read more about the championships online.
Tickets for the meet are on sale now. Single day tickets for Thursday are $20; for Friday and Saturday, they are $30. All-session tickets are $85. Order them online.