"They were only six tenths of a second off the school record," Kirkland said. "It is a race we don’t run very often. Maybe twice a year and we had a couple good legs to finish."While both squads turned in some good qualifying times in the prelims, a damp, windy, and cold evening saw many of the sprinters pull out of their events as coaches leaned toward having a healthy sprint crew ready for league meets which are held next week.
"I was extremely disappointed that the weather did that to us," coach Jim Helmer said. "Our kids were competing hard and well, but we had to shut things down when it got nasty. People pulling out of races kind of took the excitement out of an otherwise encouraging day for us..
"That kind of weather is great for distance kids, but murder on sprinters and with conference next week, we didn’t want to injure anyone."
"Our main goal was to put ourselves in a position where we could be ready for the conference meet next week," women’s coach Mike Kirkland said. "While competing at home is always exciting we really didn’t want to hurt anyone. We have had several weeks we have continued to show improvement with our veterans and still have some young athletes with whom we are waiting for a break through."
"This was one of the better meets for us in that no one came out of the meet in worse shape physically than they went into it."
Doane College hurdler-sprinter Kari Wulf was selected as the women's MVP with wins in the 100 hurdles, 100 dash, and 4x100 relay.
Bethel's Doug DeGroot took similar honors for the men doubling in the high and intermediate hurdle races.
The main highlight for the women’s team was the new meet, school, and stadium record for the 4x800 relay team who toured the distance in nine minutes, 48.8 seconds. Running on the team were Cassie Helmer, Julie Woolf, Leah Brant and Stacy Kahrs.
"Our middle distance depth is better than it was a year ago," coach Kirkland said.
The Women’s sprint medley also turned in a good showing.
"They were only six tenths of a second off the school record," Kirkland said. "It is a race we don’t run very often. Maybe twice a year and we had a couple good legs to finish."
The race consists of two 100 runners, a 200 runner and one 400. The team consisted of Rose Mans, Sheila Taylor, Nicole Ledbetter and Tanya McLain. Ledbetter churned a 24.9 200 and McLain a 58.98 quarter.
Sticking with the relays, the four by 400 turned in a good time of 4:01.7 with a dropped baton to finish a close second to the team from Oklahoma Christian University which broke the meet record with a 3:59.3 clocking.
"With the right conditions, this bunch could easily go under four minutes," Kirkland said.
Misty Cunningham had a good double, winning the 5,000 and coming in second in the 3,000. This after running an all time personal best at Baylor last week.
"That was a great double for her," Kirkland said.
Julie Woolf again ran in the low 66 second range to finish second in the long hurdle race.
"She has been very consistent and is about ready for a break through in that event," Kirkland said. "And that is after running a great leg on that 4x800 relay."
Both teams got a boost in the spirits with the throws and field events on Saturday which were completed before the skies opened up.
"We wanted to get better in the field this year and I’m very pleased with the progress we are making there," Coach Helmer said.
Women discus throwers Kysa Nelson and Mandy Strano both had personal records and were 1-2 in that event while Jena Schlager hit a personal record (PR) in the hammer throw.
"She is pushing the school record in that event," coach Jim Retzloff said.
"Our throwers will be very instrumental in our attempt to win a seventh straight conference championship next week," Kirkland said.
On the men’s side, a 2-3-4 showing in the hammer throw showed good improvement in that event, and Trey Jones PR in the Javelin and third place toss of 177-7 looked real good.
Josh Browne, Heath Horyna, and Kris Green also showed much improvement with their hammer placing.
"There have been times where we have been lucky to place in these events," Helmer said. "Our work ethic is starting to show up here. We are still struggling in the shot and discus, but we are still much improved over a year ago in both areas."
"I thought Trey Jones had a good high jump along with James Titus in the long jump who tied for first but was awarded second on his second best jump had good days also."
"As for the sprints, we dominated both the 100 and 200 in the prelims, but elected not to run a lot of them in the finals due to the weather."
The men’s 4x800 echoed the women’s effort and turned in the fastest time of the year, taking four seconds off their No. 9 national ranking in that event. They turned the oval eight times in 7:49.1 and finished second to Hutchinson who was clocked in 7:46.9
"It was their fastest time of the year by four seconds," Helmer said. "Trent Hanshew ran a personal best 1:56.6 split and Cory Helmer hit a season best 155.5." Other runners were Chris Ford and Chris Knap.
"Most of the runners who were in the 1,500 had doubled on the relay and they did a good job of it, especially Knap. Jon Cunningham had two personal records in his races today and should feel good about that as should Eric Hunt who PR’d in the steeplechase by five seconds. He is getting close to qualifying standards there for nationals."
"Our hurdlers also ran well."
"We have struggled for two years with our four by 100 relay team to get it to the level we want it and we are still struggling with it. But we are working on it. We always seem to have one bad hand off, one person injured, or someone get sick on us, but its coming."
Hopefully, it will be there next week as coach Helmer attempts to bring home another conference track and field championship for the Southwestern men’s team.
Men's Results.
Long Jump: 1. KC Crooks, Hutch 22-01.75, 2. James Titus, SC 22-01.75, 3. Dwayne Foster, Allen Co, 22-01.5, 4. Dave Richard, Hutch 22.01, 5. Ken Griffin, Allen Co. 21-10.75, 6. Brent Martens, Bethel, 21.05.5.
Javelin: 1. Charlie Perez, Allen Co. 190-4, 2. Cory Stock, Allen, 180-4, 3. Trey Jones, SC, 177-7, 4. Jamey Dover, Hutch, Seth Manske, SC166-0, 6. Paul Hazard, Doane.
Hammer: 1. Keven Stansbury, Hutch 139-11, 2. Josh Browne, SC, 136-09, 3. Heath Horyna, SC, 136-2, 4. Kris Green, SC, 132-0, 5. Chris Sorelles, UCO, 127-10, 6. Jay Morton, KWU, 127-10.
Pole Vault: 1. Casey Willis, UCO, 14-0, 2. Phil Armijo, Hutch, 13-6,3. Sang Circo, Coffeyville, 12-0, 3. Jimmy Littlefield, Coffeyville, 12-0, 3. Justin Dame, Hutchinson, 12-0.
High Jump: 1. Don Harris, UCO, 6-09, 2. Trey Jones, SC, 6-07, 3. KC Crooks, Hutch, 6-07, 4. Bernard, Springfield, Allen Co, 6-03, 5. Tim Jones, Allen Co, 6-03, 6. Steve Hoff, Doane, 6-01.
Shot: Chris Tozier, UNA, 56-3.5, 1. Jay Morton, KW 47-05.5, 2. Ellis Wright, KW, 45-10.5, 3. Kevin Stansbury, Hutch,44-10.5, 4. Chris Friesen, Bethel, 43-08.6, 5. Mike Bortoletto, Bethel, 43-01. 6. Chris Sorrells, UCO, 41-09.5.
4x800 relay: 1. Hutchinson,7:46.9, 2. SC, 7:49.1, 3. UCO, 7:51.7, 4. Coffeyville, 8:42.3.
Triple Jump: 1. Justin Relka, Doane, 45-06, 2. Kevin Lee, Bethel, 44-06.5, 3. Josh Engvoldson, Doane, 42.02. 4. Dave Richard, Hutch, 41-05.5, 5. James Titus, C, 41-02.0, 6. Robert Alvarez, Bethel, 40-09.
Discus: 1. John Fitzgerald, UCO, 162-07, 2. Jay Morton, KW, 151.02, 3. Kevin Stansbury, Hutch, 147-02, 4. Jason Gallagher, Bethel, 143-10, 5. Chris Sorrells, UCO, 141-06, 6. Bran Canfield, Hutch 139-00.
3,000 Steeplechase: 1. Eric Hunt, Sc, 9:32.1, 2. Brian Cheetsos, Doane, 10:01.3, 3. Jason Hunt, Sc, 10:18.8, 4. Greg Bomhoff, Sc, 10:22.8, 5. Shane Pratt, UCO, 10:24.7, 6. Chris McClure, Coffeyville, 10:31.0.
4x100 relay: 1. Southwestern 41.7, (Burkes, Horne, Cochran, Rankin) 2. Allen Co. 41.8, Hutch 42.5, 4. Bethel 43.1
1,500 Meters: 1. Scott Nelson, Allen Co. 4:06.1, 2. Chris Knapp, Sc, 4:07.9, 3. Ryan Fuller, Doane, 4:09.2, 4. Jon Cunningham, Southwestern, 4:10.9, 5. Martin Osborne, Hutch, 4:13.9, 6. Reece Tedford, Hutch, 4:15.6.
High Hurdles: 1. Doug DeGroot, Bethel, 14.5, 2. Chris Jones, UNA, 14.5, 3. Jarret Cullens, Hutch, 15.0, 4. Chris Woods, SC, 15.2, Andy Bowers, Hutch, 15.3, Jason Martens, Bethel, 15.5
400 meters: Sal Valencia, UNA. 49.1, 1. Curtis Guhr, Bethel, 49.6, 2. Matt Mayo, Hutch, 49.8, 3. Anthony Vergil, Doane, 51.1, 4. Mike Castro, Bethel, 52.4, 5. Montelle Knauls, SC, 52.9, 6. Justin Rankin, SC, 53.3.
100 meters: 1. Calvin Burks, Sc, 10.6, 2. Keldric Horne, Sc, 10.6, 3. Josh Hallman, UCO, 11.2
800 meters: 1. Luke Meduna, Doane, 1:54.9, 2. Chad Anderson, Doane, 1:55.0, 3. Paul Givens, UCO, 1:56.3, 4. J.T. Reisdorph, Doane, 1:57.0, 5. Anthony Mann, Doane, 1:59.5, 6. Eric Hunt, Sc, 2:00.2.
400 Hurdles: 1. Doug DeGroot, Bethel, 55.6, 2. Kyle Morghrim, Doane, 56.4, 3. David Montanez, Coffeyville, 56.7, 4. Kendell Johnson, UCO, 58.0, 5. Chris Woods, SC,58.0, 6. Tom Melling, Doane, 58.0.
200 Meters: 1. Anthony Vergil, Doane, 23.3, Chris Jones, UNA: 23.5
5,000 Meters: 1. Joel Phipps, Doane, 15:08.5, 2. Jonathan Conard, SC, 16:01.4, 3. Jon Cunningham, 16:13, 4. Reggie Malone, Allen Co. 16:24.0, 5. Josh Wheatley, SC, 16:31.8, Adam Wright, SC, 16:33.0.
4 x 400 relay: 1. Doane, 3:23.5, 2. Allen County, 3:25.8, 3. Southwestern 3:31.4.
Women
Women’s Shot 1. Shamika McClure, Hutch, 38-11.75, 2. Julie Kristopherson, Hutch, 34-07.5, 3. Jena Schlager, SC, 34-07.25, 4. Miani Statton, Coffeybille, 32-02.5, 5. Angela Conley, Allen Co. 31-11.5, 6. Mandy Strano, SC 30-10.5.
High Jump: 1. Amme Forester, UCO, 5:04, 2. Shauna Mcurry, UCO 5-04, 3. Laura McGuire, Hutch 5-02, 4. Kristi McClain, Coffeyville 5-02, 5. Amy Honcek, SC, 5-00, 6. Jessie Neilsen, Doane, 4-10.
Discus: 1. Shawnta Miller, Hutch, 2. Kysa Nelson, SC, 120-03, 3. Mandy Strano, SC, 119-08, 4. Jena Schlager, SC, 110-05, 5. Amani Statton, CC, 103-02, 6. Roni Chavez, CC, 102-2.
Javelin: 1. Jessica Jewell, Allen Co, 126-11, 2. Jennifer Einspahr, Doane, 126-10, 3. Roni Chavez, Cofffeyville, 118-00, 4. Janelle Carlgren, Hutch, 112-03, 5. Jennifer Mull, UNA, 111-01, 6. Jena Schlager, SC, 109-04.
Long Jump: 1. Trenichia Williams, Hutch, 17-11.75, 2. Kizzy Bailey, Hutch, 17-03, 3. Crystal Spoon, Hutch, 16-06, 4. Kelly Benson, Doane, 16-05, 5. Erica Jensen, Hutch, 16-02.75, 6. Stephanee Rice, Allen Co, 16-02.5.
5,000 run: 1. Misty Cunningham, SC, 18:38.9, 2. Becky Harvey, UCO, 20:11.9, 3. Pam Brown, SC, 20.26.4, 4. Lacy Amen, UCO, 21.54.0, 5. Tricia Oetinger, Hutch, 22:51.3.
Hammer: 1. Jena Schlager, SC, 135-06, 2. Kysa Nelson, SC, 124-10, 3. Jenny McCoskey, Hutch,103-11, 4. Mandy Strano, SC, 98-08.0, 5. Aimee LaPlant, Hutch, 85-06.
Triple Jump: 1. Trenichia Williams, Hutch, 35-05.5, 2. Kizzy Bailey, Hutch, 35-00.75, 3. Stephanee Rice, Allen Co. 35-00, 4. Crystal Spoon, Hutch, 34-11.75, 5. Kelly Benson, Doane, 33-01.0, 6. Erica Jensen, Hutch, 32-05.5.
1,500 Meters: 1. Angie Brumfield, Uco, 5:08.7, 2. Cassie Helmer, SC, 5:13.1, 3. Hillary Cochran, SC, 5:17.6, 4. Carletta Silvey, Coffeyville, 5:23.3, 5. Rebecca Ewdel, SC, 5:27.5.
800 Meter Sprint Medley: 1. Hutchinson, 1:48.4, 2. Southwestern, 1:48.8.
4x100 Relay: 1. Doane, 47.9, 2. UCO, 48.3. 3. Southwestern, 48.6, 4. Hutch 49.0, 5. Allen Co. 51.8.
High Hurdles: 1. Keri Wulf, Doane, 14.8, 2. Susan Klitz, Doane, 15.1, 3. Laura McGuire, Hutch, 16.4, 4. Carrie Burkhart, Hutch, 16.9, 5. Keri Siedl, KW, 16.9.
400 Meters: 1. Ebony Shirley, UCO, 59.7, 2. Jessie Neilsen, Doane, 60.02, 3. Julie Harm, Doane, 60.5, 4. Amonica Wiggins, Allen Co. 60.8, 5. Amy Glasco, Doane, 61.0, 6. Keisha Bachura, Hutch, 61.8.
100 Meters: 1. Keri Wulf, Doane, 12.5, 2. Denietra Miller, UCO, 12.5 all others bailed out with cold and rain and conf. Next week.
800 meters: 1. Erin Gillespie, Doane, 2:21.8, 2. Leah McCauley, UCO, 2:32.1, Leah Brant, SC, 2:37.3, 4. Hillary Cochran, SC, 2:48.9.
400 Meter Hurdles: 1. Susan Klitz, Doane, 65.8, Julie Woolf, SC, 66.1, 3. Jennifer Ostermeyer, Doane, 70.1, 4. Jennifer Johnston, Coffeyville, 72.0, 5. Shery Smith, Allen County, 74.4.
200 Meters: 1. Jennifer Einspahr, Doane, 26.1, 2. Julie Harms, Doane, 26.1, Amonica Wiggins, Allen County, 28.2.
3,000 Meters: 1. Mary Livengood, Doane, 10:42.2, Misty Cunningham, SC, 10:55.7, 3. Beth Barbiers, Sc, 11:47.0, 4. Rebecca Wedel, SC, 12:15.8, 5. Tori Helmer, SC, 13:09.2.
4 x 400 relay: 1. UCO, 3:59.3, 2. SC 4:01.7, 3. Doane, 4:01.9, 4. Allen County.4:34.6.