UW-Platteville's Tyler Sigl would probably the only one person to be disappointed in leaving the dreary Platteville weather Thursday and finding sunny skies in Des Moines, Iowa.
"It was about 75 and very humid; not good weather for a 10K," he said, "but not a bad day though."
Not bad indeed. Sigl won the 10,000-meter race at the 99th annual Drake Relays. He beat 24 other finishers to win at one of the nation's most prestigious venues. The competition was mostly NCAA Division I runners who will be back at the same site in June for their national championships.
Sigl, the defending NCAA Division III champion, literally ran away with the title. He finished in 30:18.42, far out-distancing runner-up Parker Cowles of Air Force, who ran 31:06.46.
"Going into the race, I was hoping to break 30 minutes, which would be 72 seconds per lap," the senior from Seymour said. "The first lap went 71 seconds, then the second and third went 78 seconds. When that happened, I just decided to get out, take the lead and it just kept getting bigger."
No one could keep pace with the 11-time NCAA III track and cross country all-American who won by 48 seconds despite the heat.
"I thought I could be in the top three, but just over a mile in, I knew I could do it," he said. "If I didn't crash and burn, I could get it."
Sigl becomes just the second Pioneer ever to win a Drake Relays event. Doug Presny won the discus at the 1987 competition.
"It is definitely cool to win the Drake Relays," Sigl said. (Photo courtesy of Drake.)
Kyle Stangel also qualified for Thursday's competition, and he earned an NCAA III provisional qualifying mark in the 1,500 meters. The Pioneer men's Sprint Medley Relay team of Matt Bischoff, Mitch Spees, Adam Buss and Cam Klein will compete Saturday.
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