Tiger track and field teams get in a final tune-up
Taking part in the final regular season meet of the indoor season, the Cowley College men's and women's track and field teams took a small group of national qualifiers to compete Friday and Saturday at Pittsburg State University. The venue will host the Region VI/ KJCCC Conference Championships the following week.
"With that, it was a good opportunity for our athletes to get familiar with the facility," Cowley head coach Cameron Rieth said. "The meet was massive with teams flying in from western Colorado and just about everywhere in between."
According to Rieth, there were a lot of good things to take from the meet. Mason Bickle, Miquel Cruz, and Kayli Myers had great showings. Bickle had a massive 55-second personal best, Cruz ran 20 seconds faster than he ever had, and Myers ran 25 seconds faster.
"We have been waiting for this type of opportunity, and they took full advantage of it," Rieth said. Cruz narrowly missed the national qualifying mark by less than half a second.
The Tiger track and field teams will now turn their sights to the Region VI/KJCCC Conference Championships hosted at Pittsburg State University on Saturday, February 17. Both teams placed second in the conference a season ago.
"It will need to be a total team effort, and things will have to go our way a few times, but I think we could be in the running to compete for a conference championship for both men and women," Rieth said. "With how competitive Region VI is as a whole, it is never easy, and nothing is ever taken for granted. We will take a look at things and do everything in our power to put our best team together."
Results:
WOMEN
*60-meter dash – Karma Singleton, 8.62, 65th.
*400-meter dash – Isabella Kupka, 58.04, 17th;
*Mile run – Tavarie Campbell, 5:17.17, 26th, national qualifier; Brittannia Willis, 5:26.22, 51st.
*5,000-meter run – Kayli Myers, 18:49.29, 26th, national qualifier; Lakota Schultz, 20:11.16, 43rd.
*4x400-meter relay – Cowley A, 4:18.32, 19th.
*Pole vault – Dapper, 10-6, 12th.
*Long jump – Genesis Bautista, 16-9 ¼, 30th.
MEN
*200-meter dash – Davonte Pruitt, 22.85, 51st' Kollin Gretencord, 23.24, 60th.
*Mile run – Pedro Balestrini, 4:21.44, 43rd; Austin Schaeffer, 4:24.35, 56th.
*5,000-meter run – Mason Bickle, 15:04.98, 20th, national qualifier..
*4x400-meter relay – Cowley A, 3:28.37, 22nd; Cowley B, 3:32.32, 27th.
*High jump – Garrah Bauer, 5-10 ¾, 12th.
*Weight throw – Julien Washington, 48-0 ¾, 31st.