Little Rock Trojans track and field athletes competed on April 23 at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, facing difficult weather and a condensed schedule.
The event was affected by inclement weather, which led organizers to move the meet up by two and a half hours. This sudden change resulted in several teams arriving late or missing events entirely, leading to a smaller but still competitive field. Little Rock’s athletes had limited time to warm up before their races due to the revised schedule.
Shane Fisher opened for Little Rock in the 1500 meters after being added late to the competition. He finished 11th overall with a time of 4:07.43. Devin Stevens led the team in the 800 meters, placing sixth with a time of 1:52.83. “Despite the rushed conditions, it was overall a slower race due to wind and travel, but it was still a great opportunity to sharpen up before the conference meet,” Stevens said.
Graduate student Jordan Smith closed out Little Rock’s day by finishing 11th in the 5000 meters with a time of 15:18.19.
Assistant track and field coach Jordyn Naylon said, “Rough situation with the meet getting pushed 2.5 hours ahead. We were lucky enough to even make the meet, but it didn’t leave much time for settling in and warm-ups. Most of the racing fields had over half the runners not show up, and there was a solid headwind on the last straight… It was tough, but definitely a learning experience.”
Looking ahead, Little Rock will take this weekend off before traveling to Dallas for the SMU Invite scheduled for May 1-2.
