We heard from ADM’s head girls’ track coach Bart Mueller yesterday as he talked about Kari Dufoe’s chances of winning the 100 meters at the Drake Relays, but she isn’t the only Tiger athlete in action this weekend.

With the events for high school competitors beginning today in Des Moines, Coach Mueller also has some opinions about his three relay teams and where they could finish at Drake.

“Going through our relays, I hope to improve our seed in all the relays.  I think there are a couple relays, maybe even three relays where we have a shot at the top 10–that would be the 4×200, 4×100 and the 4×400 (meters).  I’d even go a step further and say that in that 4×400, there is no reason we shouldn’t be top four.”

ADM’s 4×400 relay team at Drake will be comprised of Torrie Hook, Brianna Mueller, Regan Engleman and Kari Dufoe.  Coach Mueller speaks highly of that group, which currently has the fourth best time in the 4×400 in the state.

“That group of four girls is a very special group.  To have four girls at 60 (seconds) or under 60 (seconds), you know it is a once-in-a-lifetime event for them and as a coach, when you have four quarter-milers that can run like that.”

Mueller says he doesn’t want his 4×400 squad to put too much pressure on themselves heading into their event.  He says he’ll tell them what he always tell them before a big race, “control what you can control.”

The 4×400 girls’ prelims at the high school level begin at almost 9pm tomorrow.