School Records Highlight Alsup Open

Results
 
MARYVILLE, Mo. – On a cold and windy Saturday morning, the track and field team loaded the bus to head to the very familiar Hughes Fieldhouse on the campus of Northwest Missouri State University. Though it was cold outside, they were on fire inside as they took two individual titles, qualified three Pioneers for the NAIA National Championship, set two school records, laid their hands on 15 personal bests, and landed 24 in the top ten of their various events.
 
For the field events, the throwers collected their personal bests in the shot put with senior Ella Margheim leading the charge. Freshmen Russell Ferguson and Joshua Delgado added two more personal records for a total of three. The jumpers added another personal best in the field events with newcomer Jaidyn Tabony showing her explosiveness in the triple jump.
 
On the track, the sprinters added six personal bests to the list with three coming in the 60 meter hurdles. Fardis Hossinei set the tone with a heat win for his personal record. Following that example, Lance Jones also won his heat with Benn Schnelle taking fifth to set their bests. Jones followed that up in the finals with another personal best that gave him a school record and qualified him for the NAIA National Championship, currently placing him tied for fifth in the NAIA.
 
In the 60 meter dash, Gift Iredia ran a strong race in the preliminary round to qualify for the finals. In the finals, Iredia blazed the track for a school record, national qualifying, and personal best time.
 
Besides setting a personal best in the 60 meter hurdles, Jones also had a great performance in the 200 meter dash to add to his personal records for the day.
 
Lakin Essex grabbed her personal indoor best and an individual title in the 400 meter dash thanks to a very determined competitor who pushed her all the way to the line.
 
Nikiwe Mongwe continued her winning ways with an impressive win in the 200 meter dash which also qualified her for the NAIA National Championship, placing her number one in the NAIA.
 
Moving up the line to the mid-distance and distance athletes, five personal bests were claimed on the 300 meter track.  In the very first race of the day, Josie McClung led the Pioneer charge with a personal best in the 1000 meter race. Ken Morgan followed that with a best in the 5000 meter. Isabella Meili ran a very determined race in the mile, blistering the final lap to quell any rebellion from her competitors as she won her heat and set a personal record. Likewise, Meili's former high school teammate, Aidan Scherman, ran a great race in the mile, which saw three competitors break four minutes, to add another personal record to the scorecard. Finally, Jacob Hendrickson, dropped 25 seconds in the 3000 meter race to complete the personal bests for the distance group.
 
This was a great start to the new year for the Pioneers with many personal records claimed as well as athletes trying events for the first time in their collegiate career, hoping to gain strength for their specific event.