Concordia, Kan. & Maryville, Mo. – The Friends University Men's and Women's indoor track & field squads continued preparation for the upcoming KCAC meet with more standout performances at the Concordia Classic in Concordia, Kan. and the Bearcat Invite in Maryville, Mo this past weekend.
Concordia Classic
A big day for Caroline Giles (JR/Minneapolis, Kan.), with the Minneapolis, Kan. native winning the 3,000 meter run (10:35.80) and teaming with Aileen Gurrola (SR/Garden City, Kan.), Aubry Donley (JR/Lincoln, Kan. ) and Kourtney Warren (FR/Temple Terrace, Fla.) to capture the top spot in the 4 X 800 relay with an NAIA "A" and "B" standard time of 9:34.32.
Emad Bashir Mohammed also continued his stellar run with a victory in the mile run that featured an NAIA "A" and "B" standard time of 4:17.51.
"Some highlights: Emad continues to improve every time he steps on the track and I am excited to see what he brings to the KCAC meet in two weeks," said Friends indoor track & field head coach Henry Brun. "Caroline has to be the surprise story of the season for me. She has grown so much over the last year and has become a true leader of this program, stepping up in big moments time and time again."
Gurrola also gave the Falcons a second-place showing in the 1,000 meters (3:04.90), with Donley (third, 1:42.17) and Sarah Tarn (SO/Montezuma, Kan. ) (fourth, 1:43.59) recording top four showings in the 600-meter event.
Along with Giles' victory in the 3,000 meter run, Claire Dingler (FR/Colwich, Kan.) finished fourth (11:36.33) in the event.
For the men, the group of Josiah Bolton (JR/Ellsworth, Kan. ), Logan Anglemyer (JR/Wichita, Kan. ), Aaron Terrell (FR/South Holland, Ill.) and Eli Jacobson (SO/Towanda, Kan. ) put together an NAIA "A" and "B" standard time of 7:56.37 for a runner-up showing in the 4 X 800 relay.
Jacobson then recorded a podium finish of third in the 1,000 meter run (2:35.54), while Avery Stuever (SR/Wichita, Kan.) (fourth, 52:06) and Terrell (fifth, 52:09) each notched top-five showings in the 400-meter event.
"At Concordia, our distance group had a great day overall," said Brun. "The 4x800 relays took care of business and showed that they have the potential to be national finalists with their performances. Both of the relays still have some work to do, but I feel strongly that they will represent well at the national meet. We had a specific goal to improve many of our times for us to have the best opportunity to score at the conference meet – plainly said, we want to be in the fast heat. We saw some really promising things that will add the depth we need going into conference."
Bearcat Invite
A highlight of the Bearcat Invite for the Falcons was senior Allen Henderson (JR/San Antonio, Texas) setting a new school mark and hitting the NAIA "A" and "B" standards in the high jump (2.05m). Henderson's jump is first in the KCAC and tied for fourth in the NAIA.
Marcquiece Cade (FR/Concordia, Kan. ) and Brayden Wells (SR/Wichita, Kan. ) each enjoyed third-place podium finishes for the Falcons, as Cade achieved both the NAIA "A" and "B" standards and broke the school record in the 60m hurdles (8.21). The Concordia, Kan. native's jump ranks first in the conference and ninth in the NAIA.
Wells also hit both national standards with an 18.59m mark in the weight throw.
Garrett Lewis (FR/Fate, Texas) would get the Falcons started on the right track Friday with a first-place result in the pole vault (4.46m).
"At NW Missouri, I couldn't have asked for a better weekend of competition," said Brun. "We have every event group hitting their stride at the perfect time of the season. Allen's record breaking performance in the high jump was impressive. He had been flirting with a big jump all season and we had been talking about how this event would be how he makes his mark this indoor season for a men's program that is wanting to do something special at the national meet. He showed up with confidence and composure, and some good back extension and had a great day."
"Marcquiece has been very clear of his goal to go under eight seconds in the 60m hurdles this season and he never backs down from the competition that pushes him to improve. He made a huge leap on Saturday, finally dipping into 8.0x territory. His poise and competitive spirit is contagious and our team feeds off of that. He will be a force these next few weeks and I believe he will be the fire that ignites this men's program."
On the women's side, Kortney Schutt continued to shine, winning the weight throw and finishing as a strong runner-up in the shot put. Schutt hit both the NAIA "A" and "B" standard with a KCAC-leading 17.35m in the weight throw that's also third nationally. The Wichita product's 13.22m mark in the shot put also hit the national "B" standard while ranking first in the KCAC and 14th in the NAIA.
On Friday, Brynna Halata (FR/Friendswood, Texas) produced a fourth-place showing in the pole vault (3.12m), while Keiana Newman (FR/Concordia, Kan.) (9.44m) and Shavonte Harris (FR/El Paso, Texas) (9.44m) each tied for fourth in the 60 hurdles finals.
"The throws crew continues to dominate at meets and improve their conference/national marks," said Brun. "With throws in particular, the goal is to stay consistent week-to-week because that's what will give you a chance to podium at the national meet. We look prepared to do just that."
"We have one final tune-up for some athletes at Pitt State this weekend and then it's time to set our sights on defending our KCAC titles from last season. It will be a challenge with many teams finding success all over the board this year, but I can see a path to the championship with the group we have."
