Lady Tigers place 17th, men 28th, at outdoor track and field championships
With a combined six All-Americans, the Cowley College men’s and women’s track and field teams recently wrapped up competition at the NJCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships held Thursday through Saturday at Gowns Stadium in Hutchinson, KS.
With a combined six All-Americans, the Cowley College men's and women's track and field teams recently wrapped up competition at the NJCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships held Thursday through Saturday at Gowns Stadium in Hutchinson, KS.
Led by four All-Americans, the Lady Tigers placed 17th out of 37 schools that scored points at the national meet. Cowley women's All-Americans included Dakota Dapper (pole vault), Mercedes Glover (hammer), Cierra Gray (shot put), and Kennedy Kizarr (pole vault).
"It was a great day to be a Tiger on the field events side," Cowley head coach Cameron Rieth said. "Our lady vaulters really got it done. Dakota and Kennedy finished off stellar track and field careers. Cierra grinded out a tough day, got it done, and climbed up the rankings with each throw."
The Tigers were led by All-American performances from Victor Morfin in the high jump and Dagen Geier in the decathlon.
"Victor saved his best day of the season for the national meet," Rieth said. "He was jumping incredibly, narrowly missing a bar that would have put him into second place. And, Dagen willed his way onto the podium in the Multi, which was awesome to watch."
South Plains Junior College captured the men's team title, and Iowa Western brought home the women's team championship.
Cowley results:
MEN
*1,500-meter run – Alexis Realland, 4:05.23, 29th; Miquel Cruz, 4:13.65, 36th.
*3,000-meter steeplechase, Esteban Boisseau, 9:52.80, 16th; Pedro Balestrini, 10:37.93, 26th.
*High jump – Victor Morfin, 6-9 ½, fifth, All-American.
*Long Jump – Ranaldo Hanna, 23-1 ¼, 10th.
*Pole vault – Dagen Geier, no height.
*Hammer – Jacob Haney, 145-4, 15th.
*Decathlon – Geier, 5,974 points, eighth, All-American.
WOMEN
*Shot put – Cierra Gray, 43-9, sixth, All-American; Amoni Evans, 37-8, 16th.
*Discus – Bree Rowe, 131-2, 14th.
*Hammer – Brianna Lee, Mercedes Glover, 166-8, sixth, All-American.
*Javelin – Glover, 116-8, 14th.
*Pole vault – Dakota Dapper,11-10, fourth, All-American; Kennedy Kizarr,11-2 ¼, eighth, All-American; Elizabeth Brozek, 9-10 ½, 14th.
*400-meter dash – Grace Knight, 59.85, 21st.
*5,000-meter run – Kayli Myers, 19:32.70, 28th.