CMU and Baker Invite Recaps

FAYETTE, Mo. – In a second attempt at Central Methodist University, one was like the first, plenty of wind. The second, however, saw the jumpers, in general, making their first attempt of the outdoor season. The Pioneer sprinters plus one went to CMU while the throwers and distance athletes performed at Baker University.

On Friday to start off the meet for the Pioneers, Zack Jones, TJ Bessmer, Bret Bourquin, and Ray Kosgei led the team to a third place finish in the 4x800 meter relay.

The long jumpers got their legs exploding off the boards on Saturday with two Pioneers setting personal bests and all finishing in the top ten. Elijah Bergin set the tone for the men, setting a personal best while Olivia Young followed suit with her own personal record. Though not a personal best, Reanna Green led the Pioneer women in the long jump grabbing second as Young took fifth and Nala Burns took ninth.

In the triple jump, Young continued her punishment off the boards claiming the second spot with teammates Hayley Loewen taking third and Ryleigh Hayes at tenth.

Switching to the track, the 4x100 women's team of Green, Lakin Essex, Janiah Nicholson, and Daizy Ntowe cruised to a top four place to get the races started on Saturday for the Pioneers. The 4x100 men's team of Bergin, Maikyah Stowe, Blake Poje, and Gift Iredia followed with a sixth place showing.

The lone distance runner at the meet for the Pioneers, Kosgei, tried to duplicate his win on this track only two weeks ago as he battled against a strong unattached opponent. The two opponents pulled away in the third lap, going to battle to the line. The opponent was able to get a step on Kosgei, who finished a strong second.

In the men's 110 hurdles, Sam Keita made his first attempt with teammate Lance Jones already getting one chance before. Both set personal bests, with Keita claiming a B standard National qualifying mark. One of the Pioneer's stronger dashes is the women's 400 meter race. This did not disappoint regarding placing as four Pioneers placed in the top eight positions. Essex led the squad with a seasonal best followed by Nicholson, Ntowe, and Joslyn Griffin; third, fourth, sixth and eighth, respectively. Along with the impressive placement, three other Pioneers set personal records, Allisa Ward, Hannah Edwards, and Kirsten Wetterstrom.

On the men's side of the 400 meter dash, Blake Poje continued his improvement, taking fifth overall while newcomers Iredia and Bergin also clocked personal bests. Jatavion Pegues, in his first open 100 meter dash this season, set a personal best while taking second in his heat.

Going to the mid-distance races, the 800 meter run, the lone Pioneer woman, Alex Gere, continued to show improvement, dropping a couple seconds to take third overall. Meanwhile, Jones and Bourquin followed with strong second and sixth place finishes. Keita and Jones continued to show their abilities as they both ran the 400 meter hurdles for the first time. Like the 110 hurdles, Keita ran a B standard qualifying National mark while taking third place. Jones also ran well as he garnered an eighth place finish.

Closing out the races for the Pioneers, the speedsters took to the track in the 200 meter dash. They had an impressive day, as seven of the MNU athletes set seasonal or personal bests. Ntowe led the charge with a top ten finish and a season best. Griffin, Ward, Edwards, and Wetterstrom all clocked personal bests in the 200. For the men, Pegues and Stowe also set personal records in the 200. Pegues claimed two personal bests for the day.

Overall, the Pioneers claimed twenty personal bests with two B standard National qualifiers as they made forward progress, ever marching towards Conference and Nationals.


BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – On Saturday, the Pioneers took their caravan down the road to the quiet town of Baldwin City, home of the Baker University Wildcats. There, though they were met with resistance, they proceeded to light up the skies and set the track ablaze as the throwers and distance runners took on very determined competition in the Wildcat Classic.

Starting off the meet, the throwers unleashed an aerial assault not seen before this outdoor season. They did so with 18 personal bests and a special guest appearance from an unattached thrower known as Nathan Houser, also known as "Coach".  Coach set the tone in the second flight of the hammer throw with a launch that was 15 meters better than the next opponent, Pioneer Jacob Creswell, and barely short of the street. The cars were not safe. As the Pioneers cheered on Coach, "that's my coach" could be heard, they occasionally would let him know that they were going to beat him.  Always the coach, Houser would reply, "Please do!"  Though no thrower got there, they were very determined and performed very well.

Spurred on by Coach, five personal bests came from the hammer throw alone. In the men's hammer, both Eyasu Merid and Gabe Turley set their personal bests; Turley by roughly two meters. On the women's side, Alicia Hernandez-Mast, Alexandra Dickerson, and Victoria Lotz all set personal records. In doing so, the Pioneer women claimed four of the top seven spots, Caley Blosser grabbing second. Lotz also set the school record as well as qualified for Nationals via an A Standard and claimed the #5 spot on the NAIA All-Time list.

In the javelin though no personal bests were set, the Pioneer men, Brody Stewart and Kaleb Barbee, took the third and fifth places, respectively.

Following the hammer throw, the women let the flying saucers go in what is known as the discus throw. They took three of the top six places with Mast, Dickerson, and Lotz going sixth, fourth and first, respectively. Lotz grabbed her second win of the day and also had her second National qualifying mark. Mast and Dickerson also set personal records.

The men followed the women in discus as Turley led the Pioneers with a third place finish and a personal best. Merid grabbed fourth while Jaxson Nation added to the personal record totals. Creswell, similarly, threw his best since being in a Pioneer uniform.

Going on simultaneously with the women's discus, the Pioneer men led the team to the shot put ring. All five of the Pioneers, Creswell, Merid, Turley, Nation, and Alexander Dawkins grabbed another set of personal bests.

After completing the discus throw, the women took to the shot put ring. Even after a series of different events, the Pioneers were on fire. Except for one opponent slipping in, the Pioneers occupied the top five: Dickerson fifth, Ella Margheim fourth, Blosser second, and Lotz first. Except for Lotz, they all set personal bests. Lotz, however, completed the thrower's hat trick, taking first place in all three of her events.

In the race for the most personal bests in a meet, Turley led the men's group, going three for three. On the women's side, Dickerson equaled the total of three, also going three for three.

Meanwhile on the track, the distance crew set the track ablaze with seven personal bests. Isabella Meili and Anna McKnight started the fire in the 1500 meter race. Meili had her debut in the 1500 while McKnight had one under her belt. They ran strong races to finish third and fourth overall and establish their personal bests. Jackson Elsey, Tyler Swearengin, and Brenton King followed the women's race in the 1500 to also set personal bests. Elsey was the seasoned veteran who waited patiently before moving up the pack to grab second in the heat. Swearengin started a little quicker but then settled into place to set his personal best. Meanwhile King ran a smart race for a good debut. In the 800 meter run, Cassandra Reyes took off quickly to pull away from the crowd. She never looked back as she cruised smoothly to win the heat with a three second cushion.

The final race for the Pioneers was the long race of the day, 5000 meters on a track. Riley Filmore and Gracie Enochs took to the track for the women, while James Mwihaki and Patrick Jacobs led the charge for the men. Both Filmore and Enochs were running the 5000 meters on the track for the first time while Mwihaki and Jacobs were veterans. While Filmore and Enochs battled for third and fifth place, respectively, Mwihaki led the men's race for a comfortable first place finish followed by Jacobs in third.