Lady Tigers place fourth; men finish 15th at NAIA/JUCO Invitational

Led by sophomores Cierra Gray winning the women's shot put and Ranaldo Hanna placing fourth in the long jump, the Cowley College women's and men's indoor track and field teams competed at the NAIA/JUCO Invitational on Saturday at Pittsburg State University.

The Barton County women placed first, 6 ½ points in front of Cloud County (97-90 ½), and the Hutchinson men finished first, 10.3 points better than Coffeyville (58.50-48.20).

Gray, ranked fifth nationally in the shot put, has placed first in both of this season's indoor events and is the reigning Jayhawk East Field Athlete of the Week.

"Cierra wants to be good, and you can see it, Cowley head coach Cameron Rieth said.

Riannon St. Clair (high jump) and Dakota Dapper (pole vault) also performed well and finished as the runner-up in their events.

"The goal is to keep getting better, and I think we did that," Rieth said.

Hanna's 23-3 ¼ mark in the long jump was the third-best in program history. Brett Clevenger also did well and placed fifth in the shot put, while Alex Delgado Del Castillo finished third in the pole vault.

"We had lots of personal best performances and near misses for national qualifying," Rieth said.

The Tiger indoor track and field teams will take part in the Wilson Invitational on Friday at Wichita State University.

"Our multi-event and field event athletes will compete while some of the others need a little reset week before getting back after it the following week," Rieth said.