FHSU Athletics
PITTSBURG, Kan. - The Fort Hays State men's and women's track and field teams combined to break one school record and post five national qualifying marks Saturday on day two of the 11th Annual Russ Jewett Indoor Gorilla Classic.
Emily Diercks McCullough beat all 54 other competitors in the 3,000m run, breaking her own school record with a national-qualifying time of 9:48.10. That time ranks 32nd in Division II this season. Emma Weiner ran a personal-best 10:18.47 in the same race to place 14th, ranking 10th on the FHSU DII era performance list.
A pair of student-athletes from the women's squad placed second in the vertical jumps, including Katie Linenberger in the high jump with a top clearance of 5-8.5 and Annabeth Baalmann in the pole vault with a top performance of 13-6.5. Both marks surpass the national qualifying threshold and would rank inside the top dozen in Division II, however the freshman and senior each rank inside the top four in the country with performances from earlier in the season.
Two men's pole vaulters also cleared the national qualifying benchmark. Josiah Ball cleared a personal-best 16-10 to finish second, moving to fifth on the FHSU DII era list, 12th in Division II this season and third in the MIAA this year. Hunter Angove finished in fourth place after matching his season-best performance of 16-6 which ranks 24th in DII.
Reba Mader finished 10th in the 400m dash, crossing the line in 56.61, just 11-hundredths of a second shy of the national qualifying mark. Amelia Foster ran the 400m in a personal-best 58.56, placing 29th and ranking eighth on the FHSU DII era performance chart.
Taylor Hoskinson placed 10th out of 59 runners in the mile run, improving her personal-best time to 5:04.42 which ranks sixth at FHSU during the DII era.
Avrey Albright placed 17th out of 51 runners in the 400m dash, crossing the line in 48.77. Nakari Morrical-Palmer was close behind in 18th with a personal-best time of 48.89, moving him up to fifth on the DII era list.
The men's 4x400m relay team of Albright, Jayden Michaelis, Drew Tolar and Morrical-Palmer finished in ninth place with a combined time of 3:16.25, good for sixth on the FHSU DII era performance list and less than one second off the national qualifying pace.
Dean Clark reached the finals in the triple jump, placing ninth with a top leap of 46-4.
The Tigers will wrap up the regular season at a pair of meets next Friday (Feb. 20), with some traveling to Kearney, Neb. for the Loper Tune-Up and others headed to Manhattan, Kan. for the Steve Miller Invitational.