Natural ability and a strong work ethic paid off for the men’s and women’s track teams as they faced tough competition and battled inclement weather in the past weeks.
Junior Richie Bryant led the team at the Missouri Relays, which were hosted by the University of Missouri March 30 and March 31, by running the 100-meter dash in 10.72 seconds and bettering the previous record at Baker University by three-hundredths of a second. His time also qualified him for the national meet.
However, Bryant said he expects to see lower times before the season ends.
“That was my first run since conference, and my whole body was kind of tight,” he said. “If I come out better from the blocks and my transition after my dry phase improves, I think I could really run a 10.5.”
The weather didn’t favor anyone at the meet as it presented cold temperatures and rain.
“It was warm when we got there, and then it started raining, and it started getting colder and colder and colder,” Bryant said. “With sprinters it affects a lot because you can pull a muscle at any time. You really don’t get as loose with bad weather.”
Senior Brent Randle improved upon his national mark in the triple jump with a distance of 48-4 ½ ft.
Head coach Rob Mallinder said he thought sophomore Donnie Gardner competed well in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 33:42.34, and Amber Keith showed a great effort in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 20:03.26.
Some team members were not given the opportunity to compete and some, including Bryant, were not given the chance to run in the final heats due to a judgment call by Mallinder.
“With the bad weather conditions and the uncertainty of the weather clearing, I made the decision to leave early knowing that we still have six or seven weeks left of competition, and I did not want to injure anyone unnecessarily,” Mallinder said.
Regardless of the weather conditions, Mallinder said Bryant’s feat of breaking the school record was quite an accomplishment.
“This program has been around since 1893, so when you put it in that perspective, that’s pretty good,” he said.
Instead of traveling to Columbia with the team, freshman Ashlee Miller waited to compete at Northwest Missouri State University in the heptathlon April 1 and 2.
Miller ended up taking third in the meet by accumulating 4,282 points and achieved a qualifying mark for the national meet. She is eighth in the nation in the heptathlon.
“She had a very good first heptathlon,” Mallinder said. “She had a solid debut.”
Last weekend, the team competed at the Benedictine/Baker Quadrangular that was hosted by Benedictine College this season.
“This meet is unique, and I think the athletes respond to this meet’s format really well,” Mallinder said. “The men’s and women’s scores are combined, so it is a true team event.”
Benedictine took first place with a combined score of 295.5 points. Baker placed second with 257.5 points, with William Jewell College and Park University placing third and fourth, respectively.
Freshman Matthew James ran the 400-meter hurdles in 56.34 seconds and, doing so, achieved a personal record.
The women’s 4×1 team that consisted of senior LaTasha Roberts, sophomore Chelsey Ornburn, freshman Kelsey Heckathorne and Miller took first place with a time of 50.95.
Just like weather conditions at the Missouri Relays, the weather affected the athletes.
“As the coach says, ‘That kind of weather really brings out the heart in you,'” junior Zach Atzeni said. “It put everybody on a more level playing field.”
Neither track and field team will compete against teams in the Heart of America Athletic Conference until the HAAC Championship, which will be held at Liston Stadium on April 27 and 28.
The teams will instead face different, predominately higher-level, competition.
Atzeni said on top of the high-caliber competition seen while competing in other meets, the team will be better off by simply not seeing the other conference schools.
“It’s beneficial because you’re not striving to beat the same person you’re going to face every week,” Atzeni said.
The team will travel to Wichita this Saturday to compete in the KT Woodman Classic hosted by Wichita State University.
ditions, Mallinder said Bryant’s feat of breaking the school record was quite an accomplishment.
“This program has been around since 1893, so when you put it in that perspective, that’s pretty good,” he said.
Instead of traveling to Columbia with the team, freshman Ashlee Miller waited to compete at Northwest Missouri State University in the heptathlon April 1 and 2.
Miller ended up taking third in the meet by accumulating 4,282 points and achieved a qualifying mark for the national meet. She is eighth in the nation in the heptathlon.
“She had a very good first heptathlon,” Mallinder said. “She had a solid debut.”
Last weekend, the team competed at the Benedictine/Baker Quadrangular that was hosted by Benedictine College this season.
“This meet is unique, and I think the athletes respond to this meet’s format really well,” Mallinder said. “The men’s and women’s scores are combined, so it is a true team event.”
Benedictine took first place with a combined score of 295.5 points. Baker placed second with 257.5 points, with William Jewell College and Park University placing third and fourth, respectively.
Freshman Matthew James ran the 400-meter hurdles in 56.34 seconds and, doing so, achieved a personal record.
The women’s 4×1 team that consisted of senior LaTasha Roberts, sophomore Chelsey Ornburn, freshman Kelsey Heckathorne and Miller took first place with a time of 50.95.
Just like weather conditions at the Missouri Relays, the weather affected the athletes.
“As the coach says, ‘That kind of weather really brings out the heart in you,'” junior Zach Atzeni said. “It put everybody on a more level playing field.”
Neither track and field team will compete against teams in the Heart of America Athletic Conference until the HAAC Championship, which will be held at Liston Stadium on April 27 and 28.
The teams will instead face different, predominately higher-level, competition.
Atzeni said on top of the high-caliber competition seen while competing in other meets, the team will be better off by simply not seeing the other conference schools.
“It’s beneficial because you’re not striving to beat the same person you’re going to face every week,” Atzeni said.