The Iowa State men’s track and field team faired well despite the injuries and mishaps that have plagued the squad all season.

The team was ho-hum about its 1998 Drake Relays performance, yet a sense of optimism lingers: Those who are competing are making some headway from week to week, and as team members think about what could be during the 1999 season, things seem okay.

Joey Bruckhorst shed some light on the Cyclone squad after tying for second in the high jump.

“I love the Drake Relays. It’s my favorite meet to go to. I had been looking forward to this all year,” Brunkhorst said. “I was pleased.”

During the indoor and outdoor seasons, Brunkhorst has been a consistent top-finisher for the ISU men. He cleared at 6-11 3/4 to share his runner-up place with North Dakota’s Marc Sondreal.

Since coming to the university, the standout has added two inches to his highest jump.

“I’m really working on my technique and getting stronger,” he said. “I’ve been more consistent at higher heights.”

Kevin Bourke, the men’s assistant track coach who guides the distance runners, said, “We’re making some progress.”

He said he was happy with Cyclone Kevin Farrow, who completed his first outdoor race since the the outdoor opener in Florida on March 27. Farrow came in sixth.

Farrow started the race in the middle with hopes of finishing, though he wasn’t too sure that he could even accomplish that.

Feeling the effects of a cold, he said he just wanted to get through. So Farrow hung back until the third lap, when he began catching his competitors and moved into second place standing.

“It was all right, I caught some people,” Farrow said. “It’s a pity I couldn’t stay in second place, but I died pretty bad in the last 50 meters. Still, it was just good to finish a race.”

Bourke said, “He did a good job and ran a smart race.”

In the 5,000-meter run, Saul Lempirikany secured a third place even though he has been suffering from leg problems and a sidestitch during the outdoor season.

He clocked in at 14:29.85.

Bourke said considering the sidestitch, “Saul ran well. I was glad he was able to pull out third.”

Lempirikany said, “I didn’t get what I wanted as far as the performance. You lose and you win.”

Jake Overman was one of the men who competed in the distance medley and the 4×800.

The two groups crossed the line somewhere in the middle of the field.

“It’s been a long season. Everyone [who is a part of the middle distance squad] is kind of tuckered out,” he said. “We didn’t do all that hot.”

He mentioned that the absence of All-Americans Randy Thompson (sprinter), Jason Woods (sprinter/hurdler) and Jamie Beyer (thrower) has hurt the team’s overall performances. All three Cyclones have been red-shirted due to injury.

Teammate Dan Cooper complimented Quinn Harris for his second place finish in the 100-meter dash. “That was great. It shows that we still have people running sprints,” he said.

Cooper said the shuttle hurdle team was one favored to win in the Saturday competition, but a competitor in a neighboring lane knocked a hurdle out of place.This threw ISU’s Chris Wycoff out of sync.

The hurdle, which was a 1 1/2 feet ahead of the mark and at an odd 45 degree angle, made footwork difficult. The team failed to qualify.

It was a big disappointment,” Cooper said.

Bourke said although the weekend wasn’t outstanding for the team, if the men are able to stay healthy there is hope of better performances at the Big 12 meet.