The men’s and women’s track teams hit the road Saturday traveling to Cornell College where they faced 12 teams and took home some top-place finishes.
The meet in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, gave some athletes an opportunity to qualify for nationals.
Head coach Rob Mallinder said he was pleased with the teams’ efforts.
“As long as you compete well, it makes the experience enjoyable,” he said. “I thought the team, as a whole, did very well. It was a friendly meet environment.”
Sophomore Chelsey Ornburn took first place in the pole vault with a height of 3.38 meters and qualified for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Indoor Track and Field Championships in March.
Ornburn said her focus and hard work resulted in her success, even though the track was a low temperature.
“It was a really cold atmosphere,” she said. “But it was a really fast runway. I’m really glad I was able to jump well.”
Earning a national mark in the pentathlon was freshman Ashlee Miller. She took first in the long jump with a distance of 5.08 meters, second in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.63 seconds and fifth in the 800-meter run.
Only 16 spots are available for pentathletes at the national meet, so Miller will be looking to improve in upcoming meets.
Junior Jeremiah Harp ran the 3000-meter run in a time of 10:02.65 and said his hard work the week before paid off.
“The workouts were good; I felt rested the day of the meet, and there was good competition outside of conference,” he said.
Sophomore Amber Keith also had a strong performance in the 5000-meter run where she took third place with a time of 20:52.14.
Freshman Kome Okiomah placed first in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.40 seconds and second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.69 seconds.
Sophomore Donnie Gardner placed third in the 5000-meter run with a time of 16:20.12.
Senior Brent Randle placed first in the triple jump. Sophomore Trevor Gleason and freshman Ian Barber took fourth and sixth, respectively.
Graceland University was the only other team representing the Heart of America Athletic Conference at the meet.
The runners traveled Thursday to the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Mo., where they will compete today, while the field athletes travel to Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, for the Valentine’s Pentathlon/Heptathlon and Mini Open over the weekend.
“For some athletes, this will be the last competitive meet before conference,” Mallinder said. “(Graceland) is our conference location, so it’s always good to jump there.”
Harp said he is looking forward to running at UCM because it is similar to Graceland.
“It’s hard to breathe there just like at conference, so it’ll be good training,” he said.