Pioneers Open Season at Mel Tjeerdsma Classic

Maryville, Mo. – The first meet of the season is always filled with anticipation and jitters. For many this was a long-awaited opportunity at competition having not laced up those racing spikes or wrapped up those wrists since May. For the cross country runner, it was only weeks, but still a welcomed opportunity. The Pioneers, a very young squad being represented by 50 athletes at this meet, 35 being sophomores or freshmen, would hit the track and rings against both NAIA and NCAA DII teams at the Mel Tjeerdsma Classic hosted by Northwest Missouri State University. There was a plethora of talent at the venue, so the Pioneers would be challenged from the very first meet.
 
In the field events, Coach Houser set the tone as an unattached competitor in the weight throw. He set the meet record while also qualifying under the minimum standards for the US Championships. At the same time, he would have also qualified for Nationals under DII provisional standards. Following the example from their coach, Alicia Hernandez-Mast and Alexander Dawkins set personal bests in the weight throw and shot put, respectively. Rachel Nisly, a freshman, led the charge in the shot put with a fifth place showing.  Overall, the young squad threw well, but being tough competitors, they know they will do better.
 
For the jumpers, Olivia Young hit her best indoor long jump mark while barely missing the finals by centimeters. Meanwhile, Ryleigh Hayes hammered the boards with two personal bests, long jump and triple jump. Newcomer Elijah Hall also set a personal best in the long jump, not letting the collegiate atmosphere affect his concentration.
 
On the track, the distance runners got the meet started with the 5000 meter race.  The Pioneers sent seven women to the line in two heats with all but one attempting the distance on the track for the first time.  National qualifier in cross country, Isabella Meili, led the charge for the Pioneers with a top five placing, grabbing fourth overall.
 
Sophie Scott added another top five placement as she grabbed third place in the 1000 meter run, nearly breaking the three minute mark.
 
The meet then switched to the speedsters as the Pioneers hit the hurdles and the short sprint of 60 meters.  Sam Keita made the finals in the 60 meter hurdles and followed that up with a personal best, school record, and National qualifying mark while winning the event.
 
Jatavion Pegues and Kortez Washington both grabbed bests in the 60 meter dash. Pegues also made the finals to grab third place overall and break the seven second mark for the first time. Meanwhile, in the women's 60, Nala Burns was heating up the track, taking seventh place overall while setting a personal record.
 
Sandwiched between sprint events, the highly recognized distance event of the mile sent three Pioneers to the line with freshman Aidan Scherman finishing in the top three of the Heart of America Conference competitors.   Meanwhile, senior Patrick Jacobs finished in the top six of his heat to set a collegiate best.
 
Additional excitement in the sprints came in the longer dashes as the Pioneers grabbed the top spots in various heats. Hannah Edwards took her heat in the 300 meter dash while Nikiwe Mongwe let the crowd know she was back.  Mongwe won the second heat in the 300 by setting a meet record with a four second cushion over her closest opponent.
 
In the 400 meter, the men lit up their races with three freshman Pioneers winning their heats.  Courtney Rainford set the standard in the first heat and Isaiah Keezer kept it going in the second.  Timarian Rozell closed it out with a win in the fourth heat while also claiming the third spot overall.
 
Lakin Essex, the lone Pioneer woman in the 400, took a commanding win in the fourth heat to claim a new indoor personal best and sixth overall. 
 
The second heat of the 600 yard dash was a Pioneer owned race with Eilyanniss Monge Fraguada and Joslyn Griffin battling to the line.  Monge Fraguada took the heat by less than a quarter of a second. The teammates ended up in fifth and sixth on the overall standings.
 
Heat domination was not over as the Pioneers won five heats in the 200 meter dash, two in the women's division and three in the men's. In the women's division, Jola Felix took the third heat with Essex following suit in the eleventh. For Essex, it was a personal best effort in the 200 meter dash giving her two indoor bests on one day.  For the men, Rainford added to his wins by taking the first heat. Fardis Hossinei claimed the twelfth heat with Pegues overpowering the competition in the thirteenth heat.
 
From the throwers, jumpers, sprinters, and distance athletes, there were many who gave great efforts and set personal bests, some by default as first time events.  As Coach Sawyerr noted, though this was a great effort shown, the athletes are still learning how good they really are. That identity is still being found, and confidence will grow as they work hard and realize the abilities God has given them.