FHSU Athletics
PUEBLO, Colo. – Pole vaulter Annabeth Baalmann and the 4x100 meter relay team of Hayden Albright, Toby Wahlmeier, Avrey Albright, and Drew Tolar gave the Tigers a 2-for-2 day in All-America honors as Fort Hays State track and field wrapped up the 2025 season on Saturday at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Baalmann finished fourth and the relay team finished seventh to secure a spot on the podium and All-America trophies.
Baalmann made a clearance of 14 feet (4.27m) to finish fourth, her highest finish in an NCAA Championship event. She has twice finished on the podium now after an eighth-place finish during the 2024 indoor season. She is a three-time All-America performer overall after a 10th-place indoor finish earlier this year, which was good for All-America Second Team honors. It was the third time Baalmann cleared at least 14 feet in 2025, just shy of her school record marks of 14'0.5" both indoor and outdoor. She is the only woman to ever at FHSU to clear 14 feet in the pole vault.
Baalmann separated into the top four performers in the event on Saturday by clearing 14 feet on her third and final attempt at the height. She tied Kyla Davis of Pittsburg State for the third-highest clearance of the day, but Davis took third place by clearing 14 feet on her second attempt. Baalmann and Davis both fell short of making a 14'2" clearance, which would have been a potential personal best for Baalmann, but Isabelle Peters of Pittsburg State cleared 14'2" on her second attempt to secure second. Brynn King of Roberts Wesleyan, the top performer nationally in the event prior to the championships, proved her No. 1 ranking by clearing all the way up to 14'10" for the national title.
Nine teams competed in the final of the 4x100 meter relay on Saturday. The Tigers finished seventh in a time of 40.22 seconds. It was a very tight race among the top seven, all separated by less than a second. West Texas A&M had the winning time of 39.43. FHSU was within .19 seconds of fourth place. It was the seventh time FHSU had a men's 4x100 meter relay team earn All-America status in its NCAA Division II history and first time since 2021. Walmeier, both Albrights, and Tolar broke the 2002 team's school record in the prelims on Thursday with a fifth-place finish to earn a spot in Saturday's final, taking the school record down to 39.71 seconds. That was the time ran by Minnesota State in the final on Saturday, which was good for a second-place finish.
Overall at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships, the Tigers had four All-America performances. Three were first-team performances, which included Nolan Churchman's fifth-place finish and school record in the decathlon on Friday. Emily Diercks was an All-America Second Team performer in the 10,000 meters with a ninth-place finish on Thursday night.