Track & Field Outdoor Season Opener

The Pioneers of MidAmerica Nazarene University took advantage of three different track meet offerings to open up the Outdoor Track and Field Season. Even so, it was a limited number of Pioneers to hit the track.
 
Warrensburg, MO – Evan Schmidt of the Pioneers laid claim to the first event of the outdoor season as he hit his best vault of this year, including the indoor track season, to finish second place at the NCAA DII, University of Central Missouri Invitational.
 
Leavenworth, KS – For the track athetes, the races began at the University of St. Mary with a two-day meet. The first day, Friday, unleashed the endurance of the athletes at the Distance Carnival where competitors raced from the 800 meter to the 5000 meter runs. The Team challenge, on Saturday, emphasized the explosiveness of the field and sprint athletes.
 
Of the three meets the Pioneers went to, the Distance Carnival showcased the strongest group of distance runners with distance powerhouses from DII and NAIA, including an NAIA National Champion. The Pioneers responded well with two personal bests outright and two bests when conversions were applied.
 
In the 1500 meter, freshmen Aidan Scherman and Josiah Robinson started their outdoor track seasons with a new event. Both ran very well and when their 1500-meter times were converted to an equivalent time in the mile, they would have claimed new mile bests.
 
For the longest race of the night, the 5000-meter run, Jacob Hendrickson ran a smart and patient race, slowly working his way through the pack to claim his personal best, breaking into the 15-minute group. For the women, Julia Swearengin and Riley Filmore grabbed onto a conference competitor from Benedictine University, Ave Wolf, and fought to hold on throughout the race. The Pioneers were relentless, but Wolf would not give. Even though Wolf pulled away, Swearengin stayed within range for the final kick. Swearengin made Wolf fight all the way to the finish line as they finished within half a second of each other. For her hard fought race, Swearengin broke into the 19-minute range to set a personal best time.
 
As previously mentioned, Saturday brought out the sprinters, though only a handful of Pioneers made the trip. Timarian Rozell and Kortez Washington were on fire on a day when the temperatures tried to match them, 90 degrees. The races were changed to give them a slight wind aid, which they used to their advantage. Both Rozell and Washington blazed down the track to set two personal bests each, in the 100 and 200 dashes.
 
Lawrence, KS – Taking on a variety of classes from the NCAA D1 to Junior Colleges, the throwers of MNU traveled to Rock Chalk Park to join in on the fun of the Jayhawk Spring Fling. In doing so, they attained five top 5 finishes as well as four personal bests, excluding those who threw in events for the first time.
 
The Pioneers lit up the sky in the hammer throw where three of the top 5 places were held by the Pioneer men. Jacob Creswell won the title with Alex Dawkins and Joshua Delgado taking fourth and fifth, respectively. The seasoned veterans, Creswell and Dawkins also set personal bests.
 
For the women throwing the hammer, Alicia Hernandez-Mast led the charge for the Pioneers with a personal best as she finished just shy of the top 5 at sixth.
 
In the javelin throw, Brody Stewart claimed the fourth spot in the men's division for a good season start. Meanwhile, after a long hard road of rehab due to an injury, Nora Powers hit the comeback trail with a fifth-place finish. Ella Margheim was only two places back when she set a personal best.