Track and field wraps up January

Story by Levi Blaylock, Writer

So far in the indoor season, the following BU athletes have qualified for the national meet:

  • Tyson Robke — heptathlon.
  • Kendal Holloman — pole vault.
  • Josh Peck — weight throw.

The indoor track and field team had a busy weekend as the Wildcats finished their meets for the month of January. Members of the teams competed in the Dutch Athletics Classic in Pella, Iowa, and the Pittsburg State Invitational.

On the men’s side, the Wildcats finished third overall in Pella, Iowa. Junior Tyson Robke won the heptathlon with a personal best, 4,584 points. He now ranks No. 8 in the nation and qualified for nationals.

The men’s distance squad placed four athletes in the top eight of the 3,000-meter run. Junior Andrew Dare led the squad with a second-place finish.

Senior Josh Peck qualified for nationals in the weight throw with his toss of 16.31 meters at Pittsburg State.

“Just from people hitting PR’s and hitting qualifying marks, I would say that the Iowa meet has been the team’s most successful meet,” senior Jesse Austin said.

On the women’s side, the Wildcats finished fifth overall. Kendal Holloman had a huge day. She landed a 3.48-meter mark in the pole vault, earning her a first place finish, and she automatically qualified for the NAIA national meet.

Other notable performances were from Kiana Turner, who finished second in the 60-meter dash, and junior Alex Garbarino-Herman, who finished second in the 60-meter hurdles.

Looking forward, the Wildcats have two weeks to prepare for the Heart of America Athletic Conference indoor meet in Crete, Nebraska.

“I think we have our work cut out for us with the new schools added to our conference,” senior Ashley Riniker said. “Grand View and William Penn have some outstanding athletes so it’s hard to compare us to last year, but I think everyone is doing a good job stepping up and getting things done, and that is going to be key once conference gets here.”

Both teams have their four-year indoor conference winning streaks on the line this year. With many changes to the team and new schools in the conference this year, the fifth straight won’t be easy.

“This team is hard to compare to past years because we have a lot of new athletes with a new coaching staff, but I would say we definitely have the potential to do great things with the team we have,” junior Birdsong Warren said.