Baldwin City, Kan. – On a cool and cloudy day, the Pioneers of MNU traveled down 56 Highway to Baker University to compete in the Zach Kindler Invitational. For some it was the last meet of the season but for others it was another chance to qualify for the Heart of America Conference Championship Meet and Nationals. The Pioneers responded admirably with eight individual titles, six runner-up, and six third place spots. They also compiled 24 collegiate bests.
Starting off the meet for the Pioneers, the jumpers set the tone as newcomer Ella Burnett grabbed the high jump title and set her collegiate standard. The jumpers were not done, either, with National qualifier
Reanna Green taking the title in the long jump and
Olivia Young keeping the streak going in the triple jump. Adding to the excitement,
Ryleigh Hayes set her personal best in the long jump.
Switching to the throws, the Pioneers grabbed a title, two runner-up spots, three third place positions, and six personal bests.
Jacob Creswell dominated the hammer throw as he took the title by 29 feet. In the women's hammer,
Caley Blosser had a strong performance to grab the silver.
In the discus,
Alexander Dawkins led the charge among the men with a second place finish and personal best. Creswell, a couple spots back, also set his collegiate best. Blosser added to her podium presence with a third place finish and a personal best with
Alicia Hernandez-Mast adding to the personal best column.
Brody Stewart was tough on the competition in the javelin as he grabbed a third place finish, adding to the throwers' podium charge.
The final throwing event was the shot put as Hernandez-Mast grabbed another personal best on her way to a third place finish among the women. For the men,
Eyasu Merid claimed the honors of a personal best.
Along with a great showing in the field, the Pioneers made their presence known on the track with four golds, four silvers, and three bronzes.
The first track event for the Pioneers was the 4x100 with
Maikyah Stowe,
Jatavion Pegues,
Blake Poje, and
Gift Iredia ripping the competition for a first place finish.
The hurdlers added to the totals of podium spots as both
Lance Jones and
Sam Keita took top honors in the 110 meter and 400 meter hurdles, respectively. For the women's 400 hurdles,
Kirsten Wetterstrom set a personal best to grab the bronze.
Adding to the Pioneer silver total, Pegues flew down the straightaway in the 100 meter dash, getting nipped at the line by a lean.
For the 200 meter dash, the Pioneers were able to grab three personal bests as Green improved her time and
Kortez Washington and
Dennis Musungu lit it up in the men's division.
Doubling the distance, 400 meters, the Pioneers added another three to the collegiate best column with
Joslyn Griffin doing so to take second overall while Allisa Ward showed continued improvement. Meanwhile in the men's division, Poje added a silver, though not his fastest 400, with Musungu grabbing a personal best.
In the 800 meter run, Josephine McClung led the Pioneer women while setting her best time. For the men,
Zack Jones grabbed a third place finish as he led a pack of Pioneers through the first 200 meters.
Bret Bourquin and
Ray Kosgei followed Jones to both set personal records.
The 1500 meter run was the leader of all events in personal bests, six, with senior
Casandra Reyes setting the pace for the Pioneer women. Reyes grabbed the bronze while her teammates,
Riley Filmore and
Kennedy Krotzinger, set their best times. Meanwhile in the men's group, senior
James Mwihaki was the fastest Pioneer around the track as he and
Patrick Jacobs,
Brenton King, and
Tyler Swearengin all set personal records.
As is track tradition, the 4x400 meter relay was the last event of the day. The women's team,
Lakin Essex,
Daizy Ntowe,
Alex Gere, and Griffin, cruised to a comfortable five second win. The Pioneer men of
Elijah Bergin,
Lance Jones,
Zack Jones, and
Mathew Banuelos took the runner-up spot to close the day.
For the day, the Pioneers had a good showing as they prepared themselves for the Heart of America Conference Championship Meet which occurs the following week.
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