Despite not having a track to practice on for about a year the Drake track and field team is sending five competitors to the NCAA Midwest Regional which begins Friday in Austin, Texas.

The renovation of Drake Stadium meant the Bulldogs had to find other places to train and coach Natasha Kaiser-Brown says a couple of Des Moines high schools were among the alternatives. She says you really need to be on the track in the spring and it was a very creative year to get them on tracks so they weren’t on hard surfaces all the time.

Kaiser-Brown says the team has improved since the stadium opened. She says it’s hard to break the news to them that they’re getting a new facility, but couldn’t be on the track until before the Drake Relays.

The team will spend much of next season at home. Besides the Drake Relays the stadium will host the Missouri Valley Conference Championships and the midwest regional. Kaiser-Brown says it will seem like they’re hosting meets almost every other weekend.

UNI is sending 13 competitors to the regional, Iowa State is sending eight. All will be looking to qualify for the NCAA Championships which begin June seventh in Sacramento.