BOLIVAR, Mo. - The multi-athletes from the Fort Hays State track and field team opened competition at the SBU Bearcat Invitational Friday (April 2). Two Tigers are on pace to break school records, while a third is on track to clear the provisional mark in the heptathlon.
Mattie Rossi completed day one with 3,121 points in the heptathlon after recording personal bests in all four events. She racked up a high of 934 points in the 100m hurdles with a time of 14.32, 13-hundredths of a second off the provisional pace. She is on pace to break both the school record (4,670 points) and the NCAA DII provisional threshold (4,529).
Taylor Savolt compiled 2,668 points on day one of her first collegiate heptathlon. She recorded personal-bests in the 100m hurdles (15.34) and the shot put (33-3.75), while her best event came at the end of the day in the 200m dash. The freshman crossed the line in 25.50, compiling 841 points. She is on track to eclipse the provisional mark.
Matthew Pieper leads the Tigers in the decathlon with a day-one total of 3,714 points. He opened the day with his two best events, totaling 833 points after a mark of 23-2.75 in the long jump and compiling 832 points with a time of 11.13 in the 100m dash. He is on track to break both the school record (6,642 points) and surpass the provisional standard (6,325) with five events remaining tomorrow.
Nolan Churchman compiled 3,586 points through the first five events, including a personal-best clearance of 22-5.25 in the long jump. His best event was the 100m dash, where he crossed the line in 11.13 for 832 points.
Jack Pakkebier totaled 3,345 points on day one thanks to PRs in three different disciplines. The freshman posted a personal-best in the long jump with a leap of 20-10.75, in the shot put with a heave of 37-9.25 and in the 400m dash with a time of 50.46.
The quintuplet of Tiger multi-athletes will wrap up competition in Bolivar on Saturday with day two of the SBU Bearcat Invitational. The rest of the FHSU track and field teams will be competing in Kearney, Neb. on Saturday at the Central Nebraska Challenge.
Full FHSU Results
Women's Heptathlon
Mattie Rossi
Day 1 total - 3,121
100mH - 14.32 - 934
HJ - 5-5.0 - 795
SP - 32-5.75 - 523
200m - 25.20 - 869
Taylor Savolt
Day 1 total - 2,668
100mH - 15.34 - 797
HJ - 4-6.25 - 491
SP - 33-3.75 - 539
200m - 25.50 - 841
Men's Decathlon
Matthew Pieper
Day 1 total - 3,714
100m - 11.13 - 832
LJ - 23-2.75 - 833
SP - 38-9.0 - 595
HJ - 5-11.5 - 644
400m - 50.10 - 810
Nolan Churchman
Day 1 total - 3,586
100m - 11.13 - 832
LJ - 22-5.25 - 776
SP - 33-5.25 - 497
HJ - 6-0.75 - 670
400m - 50.07 - 811
Jack Pakkebier
Day 1 total - 3,345
100m - 11.34 - 786
LJ - 20-10.75 - 668
SP - 37-9.25 - 577
HJ - 5-5.75 - 520
400m - 50.46 - 794
FHSU Athletics