Gray, Morfin lead the way in Tiger track and field season-opener
The Cowley College men's and women's indoor track and field teams had solid performances while opening the season at the Rust Buster on Friday at Washburn University in Topeka, KS.
"I thought we had a lot of good marks. You could tell who put work in over the winter break," Cowley head coach Cameron Rieth said. "It's called the Rust Buster for a reason."
The Lady Tigers were led by Cierra Gray, who won the shot put with a throw of 45-5 ¾ to punch her ticket to the 2025 NJCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championship meet. Her mark currently ranks fifth in the NJCAA as the sophomore also competed in the weight throw and had a personal best mark of 44-9 ¾.
"Cierra had a really good opener and was just shy of her personal best in the shot put," Rieth said.
Lady Tiger pole vaulters Dakota Dapper (11-8 ½) and Kennedy Kizarr (10-8 ¾) also hit national qualifying marks in the opener.
"We have one of the best setups for a junior college as far as the pole vault goes," Rieth said. "Being able to train year-round regardless of the weather is a major benefit for us."
Dapper's performance was the fourth-best in school history.
"That is saying something because we have a decorated history in the pole vault," Rieth said.
The Tiger men were led by sophomore Victor Morfin, placing sixth in the high jump with a national qualifying mark of 6-6 ¾.
Brett Clevenger also fared well while placing ninth in the shot put, and Esteban Boisseau finished 10th in the 3,000-meter run.
"That was a heck of an opener for Esteban, as it was his first race on an indoor track," Rieth said.
The Tiger indoor track and field teams will compete at the JUCO/NAIA Challenge on Saturday at Pittsburg State University.
"This meet will be a little harder to get into, but with that being said, the ones that do get in hope to build off what they did in the opener," Rieth said.
Results:
MEN
*60-meter dash – Kollin Gretencord, 7.07, 32nd.
*200-meter dash – Miguel Garcia-Redondo, 23.26, 52nd; River Harp, 24.85, 72nd.
*300-meter dash – Gretencord, 35.02, third; Al Delgado del Castillo, 36.22, 11th.
*400-meter dash – Nah Aguerrebehere-Badia, 51.98, 29th; Ivan Seoane Alonso, 53.08, 37th.
*Mile run – Esteban Boisseau, 4:30.87, 19th; Alexis Realland, 4:33.46, 26th.
*3,000-meter run – Boisseau, 8:47.18, 10th.
*60-meter hurdles – Dagen Geier, 8.86, 13th; Delgado del Castillo, 8.90, 14th; Benjamin Long, 9.30, 27th.
*4x400-meter relay – Cowley "A," Aguerrebehere-Badia, Seoane, Realland, Harp, 3:32.26, 12th.
*High jump Open – Ranaldo Hanna, 6-4 ¾, first; Benjamin Long, 6-2 ¾, second.
*High jump Invite - Victor Morfin, 6-6 ¾, sixth, national qualifier.
*Pole vault – Dagen Geier, 13-8 ¼, 16th; Thomas Deviney, 11-8 ½, 30th.
*Shot put – Brett Clevenger, 48-8 ¾, ninth; Cooper Leonard, 42-4 ¾, 22nd; Michael Hesseltine, 41-5 ¾, 25th.
*Weight throw – Jacob Haney, 48-8 ¾, 17th; Clevenger, 47-1 ¾, 20th; Hesseltine, 46-8, 24th; Sean Zimmer, 41-3 ¾, 34th; Leonard, 40-10 ¼, 35th.
WOMEN
*200-meter dash – Mya Johnson, 32.39, 47th.
*300-meter dash – Grace Knight, 45.00, 14th; Mahalee Bilhimer, 47.28, 18th.
*800-meter dash – Dayanna Brito-Hernandez, 2:44.16, 36th.
*Mile run – Savannah Fischer, 5:36.50, 17th; Kayli Myers, 5:38.32, 20th; Pauline Althoff, 5:48.08, 24th; Mariann Lozano-Cardenas, 6:51.43, 44th.
*3,000-meter run – Myers, 11:05.07, 14th; Althoff, 11:22.92, 18th; Fischer, 11:43.80, 24th; Lili-Rose Breheret, 11:45.92, 25th.
*60-meter hurdles – Johnson, 12.00, 30th.
*High jump – Riannon St. Clair, 4-11, 10th.
*Pole vault – Dakota Dapper, 11-8 ½, fifth, national qualifier; Kennedy Kizarr, 10-8 ¾, eighth, national qualifier.
*Shot put – Cierra Gray, 45-5 ¾, first, national qualifier; Hadley Wilson, 36-5 ¾, 17th; Jessic McDowell, 31-1 ¼, 28th; Katie Cook, 29-2 ¾, 33rd; Alicyn McGinnis, 28-11 ¾, 36th; Marin Peoples, 21-4, 45th.
*Weight throw – Wilson, 47-9, 10th; Bree Rowe, 47-3 ¾, 11th; Gray, 44-9 ¾, 19th; Mercedes Glover, 44-4 ¾, 21st; Mayce McDonald, 43-2 ½, 26th; Katie Cook, 41-0 ¼, 31st; McGinnis, 36-10 ¼, 44th; McDowell, 36-2 ¼, 46th; Peoples, 35-8, 58th.