2017 Drake Relays Thursday Results

DES MOINES, Iowa—South Dakota sophomore Megan Billington placed third with a new personal best in the women's 10,000 meters at the 108th Drake Relays inside Drake Stadium on Thursday.
 
Billington dropped nearly a minute off her personal best when she crossed the finish line in 35 minutes, 2.16 seconds. The time moves her to fourth on USD's all-time charts. A native of Grand Island, Neb., Billington sat in the lead pack throughout the entirety of the race and dropped a 76-second final lap.
 
Junior Erin Wetzstein finished sixth in the race at the front of the chase pack with a clocking of 35:27.40. Wetzstein improves to sixth on USD's all-time charts.
 
Billington and Wetzstein become the seventh and eighth Coyotes to place in the top-10 of the women's 10,000 meters at the Drake Relays in the past 20 years. Of that group, the duo posted the third and fourth fastest times. USD alumna Kelsey Barrett was the last Coyote to win the event in 2015.
 
The women's 4x1600 relay of sophomore Madeline Huglen, senior Amber Eichkorn, senior Nicole Schmidt and junior Lindsay Joyce placed fifth in 19:36.61. It is the second-fastest performance in school history.
 
All four legs clocked under the five-minute barrier with Huglen taking the fastest split in 4:51.45. Huglen, who broke the USD steeplechase record last weekend, holds a personal best of 5:04.29 in the open mile.
 
The men's 4x1600 relay of senior Mach Dojiok, sophomore Jacob Simmons, sophomore Hunter Paulsen and sophomore Nate Wendt took 12th in 17:25.72. Simmons dropped the fastest split of the group in 4:11.56, eight seconds faster than his open mile time from the indoor season.
 
Junior Brice Cowman took 17th in the 10,000 meters in a personal best 31:02.79. The time ranks ninth on USD's all-time charts.
 
Sophomore Mallory Fine posted a personal best of 2:14.35 in the unseeded 800 meters.
 
The Coyotes continue action at the Drake Relays at 9:30 a.m. Friday.