FHSU Athletics
KEARNEY, Neb. - The Fort Hays State men's and women's track and field teams broke one school record, posted five national qualifying marks and won eight events at the UNK Pre-Holiday Classic Friday (Dec. 12).
Annabeth Baalmann broke her own school record in the pole vault, clearing 14-1.25 to add 0.75 inches to her personal best. After failing to clear a bar in her first competition of the season last week, Baalmann needed three attempts to get over her first height of 13-2.25. But once she cleared that bar, it was smooth sailing for the senior who cleared the next three bars on only four attempts.
Her performance is the best in Division II so far this season and is fourth-best across all NCAA Divisions. This is the fourth time Baalmann has cleared 14 feet in competition, and the second time she has done so at an indoor meet in Kearney.
Freshman Katie Linenberger improved her national qualifying mark in the high jump, placing first with a top clearance of 5-9.25. That also added 0.75 inches to her best mark of the season, ranking the Hays native second across all DII this season and placing her second on the FHSU DII era performance chart.
Jayme Hagerman won the long jump with a top mark of 18-2.5 on her fourth attempt, while Brynlee Frank posted a leap of 35-6.75 to win the triple jump and give the Tiger women a clean sweep of the jumping events.
Hailey Brown placed first in the 60m dash, crossing the line in 7.77 in the prelims and 7.80 in the final. Her preliminary time is good for sixth on the FHSU DII era performance chart. Reba Mader placed first in the 600y run with a time of 1:27.37, while Emma Weiner won the mile run in 5:29.77. Lillian Finke also etched her name on the FHSU DII era performance list, ranking sixth in the pole vault with a top clearance of 11-8.5.
On the men's side, a trio of pole vaulters all surpassed the national qualifying threshold with a clearance of 15-10. Josiah Ball, Brady Deges and Mason Younger all cleared that height to rank 15th on the DII national list this season.
Dean Clark placed second in the long jump with an indoor personal best of 23-4.5, moving him to eighth on the FHSU DII era performance chart. Two other Tigers also turned in second-place finishes, with Nakari Morrical-Palmer posting a time of 6.83 in the 60m finals. That time is good for sixth at FHSU during the DII era. Brett Eckhardt finished second in the 60m hurdles, crossing the line in 8.53. Jayden Michaelis turned in FHSU's fastest time in that event, running the prelims in 8.50 to rank 10th at FHSU during the DII era.
The Tigers will return to action after the holiday break when they travel to Topeka, Kan. for the WU Rust Buster on January 16.