FHSU Athletics
HAYS, Kan. - The Fort Hays State men's and women's track and field team broke two school records, posted 14 national qualifying marks and won 13 events Thursday at the 2026 Alex Francis Classic.
Katie Linenberger broke the outdoor school record in the high jump, clearing the bar at 5-10 on her second attempt to win the event. The freshman now ranks fourth in Division II this season after matching her indoor personal best that helped her qualify for the indoor national championships where she was a second team All-American.
Emma Slade broke her own school record in the discus for a second time this season, recording a toss of 163-11 on her third attempt of the day. That mark helped her move up to 11th on the DII descending order list this season and was good for third place in the event. She also improved her national qualifying mark in the hammer throw, finishing in first place with a top toss of 182-3 on her second try to climb to 15th in the country.
Two pole vaulters improved their national qualifying status, with Annabeth Baalmann clearing a season-best 13-9.25 to move into third in DII and Josiah Ball climbing to 12th in the country with a winning clearance of 16-11.
Reba Mader won the 400m hurdles with a national-qualifying time of 1:00.62.
Nakari Morrical-Palmer ran the 100m in 10.39, good for third place on the day, sixth at FHSU during the DII era and 31st on the DII national qualifying list this season.
Morrical-Palmer later teamed up with Brock Deterding, Avrey Albright and Drew Tolar to win the 4x100m relay in a national-qualifying time of 40.64.
Dean Clark finished in second place with a leap of 24-4.5, which would be good for a national qualifying mark had it not been for an elevated wind reading.
Five other throwers also hit national qualifying marks on the day, including Natalee North who finished fifth in the discus with a toss of 158-7 which ranks second at FHSU during the DII era. Liberty Booker placed second in the hammer throw with a heave of 176-9, while Macy Nachtigal was second in the javelin with a top throw of 141-5.
The men had two throwers post national qualifying performances, with Jackson Rumford placing second in the javelin at 209-3 and Guy Tubbs finishing third in the same event with a toss of 196-4.
Additional first-place finishes for the Tigers included Esther Clark-Pavlovich who won the 1,500m in 4:57.15 and Makenzie Premer who won the 3,000m steeplechase in 12:23.43. The 4x100m relay team of Ellie Harper, Hailey Brown, Amelia Foster and Donna Jackson placed first with a time of 46.56 while a pair of Tigers won the horizontal jumps in Jayme Hagerman (long jump, 19-2.5) and Alonnah Gage (39-3.25).
Two other men took home first-place finishes, including Hayden Nemechek in the 1,500m with a time of 4:02.73 and Bradley Nkosi in the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.57.
Next up for the Tigers is the MIAA Championships, set for May 1-3 in Pittsburg, Kan.