The Baker University track and field team proved strong at the renowned Kansas Relays and the Bo Boucek Classic last weekend at Ottawa University.
“Kansas Relays is one of the premiere events in the nation and probably one of the top five meets in the nation for most college athletes to compete in,” head coach Zach Kindler said.
Baker made it in the top eight at the relays out of 28 teams from Division I, Division II, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and junior colleges.
“Being in the top eight, it’s probably one of the premier things we’ve done this year and it’s pretty exciting to qualify for that,” Kindler said.
Five athletes who competed in the Kansas Relays broke records in their respective events. Senior Chelsey Ornburn was able to break the school record in the pole vault event with a height of 11 feet, 7.75 inches in front of her family in her hometown of Lawrence.
“Warm-up went really well before I competed, and I felt on fire,” Ornburn said. “Having my family there from Lawrence made everything a lot better because they got to see me jump.”
Ornburn's mark automatically qualified her for the NAIA National Championships May 21 in Edwardsville, Ill. <br/>Junior thrower Brian Korn placed sixth in the hammer throw and broke the school record with a throw of 56.91 meters. Sophomore Aubree Gustin also was able to break a school record in the javelin with a throw of 42.74 meters, placing her fourth in the event at Kansas Relays.Junior thrower Brian Korn placed sixth in the hammer throw and broke the school record with a throw of 56.91 meters. Sophomore Aubree Gustin also was able to break a school record in the javelin with a throw of 42.74 meters, placing her fourth in the event at Kansas Relays.
Junior thrower Brian Korn placed sixth in the hammer throw and broke the school record with a throw of 56.91 meters. Sophomore Aubree Gustin also was able to break a school record in the javelin with a throw of 42.74 meters, placing her fourth in the event at Kansas Relays.
“I thought I did pretty good,” Gustin said. “I wasn’t real happy with myself though, I could have done a lot better.”
Gustin said she is trying to get back to the level she was at in high school, when she threw around 43.8 meters, after being redshirted her freshman year. Since qualifying for nationals in her first meet, Gustin continues to improve her throw at each meet.
It was the first time in the history of Baker University track and field that a team made it into the finals in the men’s 4×400-meter relay event. The team currently is ranked 10th in the nation and qualified for nationals with a time of 3:16.36.
The women’s team was able to win the meet in Ottawa and the men placed second, despite missing some of the top athletes on the teams.
“This shows the caliber of underclassmen we have … and the future of Baker track, being able to win the meet and get second,” Kindler said.
The team travels Saturday to Southwestern College. This is the last track tournament before the conference meet on May 1.