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Athletics News

Drake Qualifies for NCAA Championship in 1,500 Meters

May 18, 2008

NEW LONDON, Conn.--Connecticut College senior Keith Drake (Norwich, Vt.) has qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship in the 1,500 meters.

Drake finished fourth in the 1500 at the New England Outdoor Track and Field Championship that was hosted by the University of New Hampshire, eclipsing his own school record with a time of 3:53.70. The performance was enough to put him over the top on the list of provisional qualifiers for his third invitation to an NCAA Championship between track & field and cross country.

Drake and his coaches Jim Butler and Ned Bishop will travel to Oshkosh Wis. this week for the Division III National Championship. The 16 team field of qualifiers will compete in the trials this Thursday. The top 10 finishers will advance to Saturday´s finals in the Badger State.

During the 2008 indoor track season, Drake qualified for the NCAA Championship in the mile. At the Boston University Valentine Invitational this February, Drake broke a school record in the mile that had stood for close to 30 years, posting a time of 4:11.75.

Drake earned Division III All-New England Honors in each of his three seasons with the cross country program and was named All-NESCAC in 2005 and 2007. In 2005, Drake qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championship with a 12th place finish at regionals. This past fall, Drake finished 13th in the All-New England Championship, topping the field of Division III competitors with the highest finish for a Camel in program history.

A Dean´s High Honors student, Drake has been honored as a cross country Academic All-American for the past two seasons. Saturday afternoon, he was honored as the male recipient of the Brown/Brooks Award. Established by the Class of 1984, the Brown/Brooks Award is given to the outstanding male and female student-athletes who best represent the graduating class in scholarship, leadership and sportsmanship. The award is named after its first recipients, Tammy Brown '84 and Jim Brooks '84.

Drake received his degree in psychology this weekend. He will continue his studies in psychology in the doctorate program at Dartmouth College this coming fall.

For more information contact: William Tomasian (860) 439-2501; william.tomasian@conncoll.edu