Weather Hinders Titans In Day One Of Drake Relays

Men's Track and Field 04.23.26

Weather Hinders Titans In Day One Of Drake Relays

Freshman Colin Murray had the best finish by a Titan freshman since 1998.

DES MOINES, Iowa (4/23/2026) -- The first day of action for the Titans turned into a battle against the weather as the University of Detroit Mercy men's track and field team opened its competition at the 116th Annual Drake Relays.

The threat of severe weather changed the event schedule in the late morning and produced humid, windy conditions in the afternoon. By the end of the day, there were tornado warnings in the area. UDM had to quickly adjust its events after they were moved a few hours earlier with little notice.

Senior Joshua Otten led things off for Detroit Mercy by taking eighth in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:59.70.

Freshman Colin Murray had the best finish on the day, taking seventh in the seeded 5,000m in 14:41.60, the best individual finish by a UDM student-athlete since Hall-Of-Famer Mark Risch was fifth in the 400-meter hurdles in 1998.

Junior Ryan Belanger placed 12th in the unseeded 1,500m in 15:49.99, and junior Christopher Russelburg saw his 10,000m event moved to tomorrow night.

Friday Schedule
11:45 am - 4x1600M - Claire Hunt, Nina Pizzo, Kirsten Koss, Ana Lopez
1:13 pm - 4x100M - Imani Sharp, Audrey Williams, Kayla Wize, Olivia Velazquez
1:22 pm - 4x100M - Micah Chaney, Joey DeCasas, Antonio Talley, Jaden McKenzie
1:45 pm - Shot Put - Lyla Mullins
5:34 pm - 400M - Jaden McKenzie
7:58 pm - 4x200M - Imani Sharp, Audrey Williams, Kayla Wize, Olivia Velazquez
8:10 pm - 4x200M - Micah Chaney, Joey DeCasas, Antonio Talley, Jaden McKenzie
9:22 pm - 10,000M - Christopher Russelburg

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