DES MOINES, Iowa—Senior
Noah Hufnagel (Santa Claus, Indiana) notched a personal-record to lead University of Southern Indiana Men's Track & Field at the Drake Relays, while the Screaming Eagles' women shattered a record in an event they rarely compete in during their final weekend of the regular season.
Hufnagel raced to a 10th-place finish in the 5,000 meters Thursday night, crossing the finish line with a personal-best mark of 14 minutes, 2.73 seconds. His effort ranks him seventh on USI's all-time outdoor 5,000-meter list.
The Eagles' men had just three student-athletes competing this weekend, with junior
Mitchell Hopf (Santa Claus, Indiana) and sophomore
Luke Heinemann (Georgetown, Kentucky) competing at the Clark Wood Open in Louisville, Kentucky.
Hopf was unable to finish in the 5,000 meters, while Heinemann scored a 27th-place finish in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:11.14.
USI's women had just four student-athletes competing at the Drake Relays this weekend.
Junior
McKenna Cavanaugh (New Albany, Indiana) and senior
Kara Martin (Herrin, Illinois) posted respective finishes of 12th and 29th in the 3,000 meter steeplechase Thursday, while senior
Emma Brown (Evansville, Indiana) was 19th in the 800 meters.
Brown, junior
Audrey Comastri (Indianapolis, Indiana) and freshman
Emily Rempe (Owensboro, Kentucky) comprised two different relays on Friday.
After teaming with Cavanaugh for a seventh-place finish in the 4x1,600-meter relay, an event USI has no recorded history in, the trio paired with Martin for a record-breaking third-place showing in the 4x800-meter relay later in the evening.
The quartet shattered the program's all-time record in the event by finishing in 9:06.36, nearly 50 seconds faster than the previous record of 9:54.90, which was set in 2001. USI last competed in the 4x800-meter relay in 2017.
USI concludes its first season of Division I competition when it competes at the Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Championships May 11-13 in Edwardsville, Illinois.
