Topeka, Kan. – One week from the Heart of America Conference Championship and the Pioneers continued to fight for every qualifier they could get. A small Pioneer group traveled to Washburn University to take advantage of a banked 200-meter track. Banked tracks are considered faster, in general. They were able to grab three personal bests, two seasonal bests, an indoor track school record, and an A-standard NAIA National Championship qualifying mark.
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On Friday evening,
Jola Felix started off the personal records with her top mark in the 200-meter dash.
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On Saturday, the field events yielded one personal best and one seasonal mark. Freshman
Raylee Saunders had a great throw early to set her personal best in the weight throw while
Evan Schmidt got a seasonal best in the pole vault. Schmidt's seasonal best was only two centimeters from an NAIA National qualifying mark but placed him second in the Heart of America Conference standings.
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On the track,
Nikiwe Mongwe had a battle on her hands all the way to the finish line in the 400-meter dash. Mongwe's fight to the finish gave her the individual title and also placed her number two in the NAIA with an A-standard qualifying time and number one in the Heart of America Conference. Currently, Mongwe is also in the top 5 in the NAIA in the 200-meter dash.
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Doubling the distance,
Aidan Scherman had a very strong 800-meter performance to set his personal best, closing out the day on the track for the Pioneers with a positive note.
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