01/25/08
The new year has brought a new track and field season. With two meets under their belts, the Wildcats look to continue gaining more experience and improvement.
The men’s and women’s teams traveled to Marshall, Mo., Saturday to compete in the Missouri Valley Invitational, a meet consisting mainly of Heart of America Athletic Conference schools.
Head coach Zach Kindler said he was pleased with both teams’ performances.
“This weekend I was excited with the way some of us are improving,” he said.
Although the meet did not keep team scores, there were many Baker athletes who placed individually.
Three sophomores brought home first place finishes including Kome Okiomah, 55-meter dash; Aaron Hannon, 55-meter hurdles; and Ashlee Miller, long jump. Freshmen Leland Linsey and Chelsea Twietmeyer also took first place in the 200-meter dash and 400-meter dash, respectively.
Five Baker athletes finished with silver medals including sophomore Arnold Sirorei, 3000-meter run; freshmen Porshe Lane, 200-meter dash; Cheyenne Barron, triple jump; juniors Katey Wegemer, 600-meter dash; and Regan Boyer, high jump.
Besides individual placers, another accomplishment for the ‘Cats was three athletes qualifying for indoor nationals in Tennessee.
For the men, Hannon reached the provisional mark in the 55-meter hurdles and Okiomah met the provisional mark in the 55-meter dash. On the women’s side, Miller’s long jump distance made her an automatic qualifier.
Kindler said the accomplishment displays the hard work and dedication of the athletes.
“It just shows that definitely a lot of them put pretty hard work in the fall and it’s showing,” he said. “I think we’ll have a number of more qualifiers for the rest of the indoor season as well.”
Miller said the hard work and time the athletes have put in have contributed to the successful results, her national bid in particular.
“It’s great, especially for it being the second week,” Miller said. “There’s so much we have in front of us to do. We’ve been working really hard so it shows how much our hard work in practice is paying off.”
Hannon, who did not qualify for nationals last year, said qualifying for nationals already has been a great accomplishment for his personal success.
“After the second meet this year, it’s really a big achievement for me,” he said. “I’ve really been wanting to (qualify) in the hurdles since it’s my main event. It’s just a really great achievement.”
The Baker track team traveled to Graceland University to begin the indoor season Jan. 11 in Lamoni, Iowa. The women’s team proved to be the best team in the conference, finishing the meet in second place, just behind Simpson University of Iowa, a Division III school. The men’s team resulted with a fifth place finish.
Several individuals brought home gold including sophomores Leo Smith, pole vault; Kelsey Heckathorne, 400-meter dash; Miller, high jump; and juniors Wegemer, 600-meter dash; Kayla Irwin, pole vault.
Irwin, a transfer from Allen County Community College, met the provisional mark in the pole vault to qualify for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national meet along with Miller, who met the provisional mark in high jump.
Second place finishes from the Graceland Invitational include Hannon, 55-meter hurdles; junior Zac Towns 400-meter dash; Boyer, 400-meter dash and high jump; and freshman Mary Loveland, 800-meter dash.
Kindler said with a young group of athletes, he’s seen much improvement and anticipates seeing more as the indoor season progresses.
“We definitely had some good performances the last two weeks, and they’re just starting to improve each week,” he said. “We’re extremely young … with that in mind, being so young and inexperienced, it’s just a learning process for a lot of them.”
The team will compete in the Iowa State Invitational Saturday and Sunday in Ames, Iowa. Kindler said the larger meet will have a high level of competition for Baker to face.
“It’s a good test to see where they’re at,” he said. “It’ll be a nicer facility than what we’ve been on, so we’ll see some faster times. We need to raise the bar.”pole vault; Kelsey Heckathorne, 400-meter dash; Miller, high jump; and juniors Wegemer, 600-meter dash; Kayla Irwin, pole vault.
Irwin, a transfer from Allen County Community College, met the provisional mark in the pole vault to qualify for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics meet along with Miller, who met the provisional mark in high jump.
Second place finishes from the Graceland Invitational include Hannon, 55-meter hurdles; junior Zac Towns 400-meter dash; Boyer, 400-meter dash and high jump; and freshman Mary Loveland, 800-meter dash.
Kindler said with a young group of athletes, he’s seen much improvement and anticipates seeing more as the season progresses.
“We definitely had some good performances the last two weeks, and they’re just starting to improve each week,” he said. “We’re extremely young … with that in mind, being so young and inexperienced, it’s just a learning process for a lot of them.”
The team will compete in the Iowa State Invitational Saturday and Sunday in Ames, Iowa. Kindler said the larger meet will have a high level of competition.
“It’s a good test to see where they’re at,” he said. “It’ll be a nicer facility than what we’ve been on, so we’ll see some faster times. We need to raise the bar.”