ALLENDALE, Mich. - The Fort Hays State track and field teams opened competition at the 2022 NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships with multiple strong performances on Thursday. The Tigers locked up three All-American honors (one first team, two second team), had two runners move on to the finals and had two solid starts in the multi-events.
Nolan Churchman wrapped up the opening day of competition in the decathlon in first place with 4,017 points. He led the field in the two running events and was third overall in both jumps. The sophomore began the day with a personal-best 10.68 in the 100m dash, good for 933 points. He then ended the afternoon by beating the field to the line in the 400m dash with a time of 47.87, adding 915 points to his total. Churchman leads second place by 12 points and is 43 points in front of the pace he set when he broke the school record with 7,119 points earlier this season.
Mattie Rossi ranks fourth in the heptathlon through four events with 3,174 points. She posted personal-best times in both running events on day one, including a 13.69 in the 100m hurdles that is just .02 off the school record. That time earned her 1,023 points, while her 200m time of 24.87 was good for 899 points and eighth place on the FHSU DII era performance chart. The junior is nine points in front of the pace set earlier this season when she broke the school record with 5,214 points.
Rossi also competed in the 400m hurdle prelims Thursday evening following a one-hour rain delay. She posted a time of 59.19 in the first round, fourth-best in the field to qualify for Saturday's finals.
Ryan Stanley earned All-American honors for the sixth time in his career after clearing the 16-8.75 bar in the pole vault, placing eighth. Jacob Clark also cleared the bar at 16-8.75, finishing ninth to pick up second team All-American status, his second All-American honor.
Lyric Holman is on to the finals in the 100m dash after posting a time of 11.59 in the prelims. This is her third trip to a finals race at the national championships after reaching the 200m finals last year and the 60m finals indoors in 2021.
The day concluded with the 10,000m run, where Robbie Schmidt earned second team All-American honors via a 12th-place finish. The senior found himself in 17th around the midway point but managed to pass five runners to climb into the final All-America position. Schmidt will wrap up his impressive Tiger career Saturday evening with the 5,000m run.
The men's 4x100m relay team of Cole Diffenbaugh, Hayden Albright, Xavier Robinson, Philip Landrum placed 12th in the prelims with a time of 41.76.
Six Tigers will compete in six events on Friday, including the second half of the multi-events and preliminary rounds of the 200m dash (Holman), 100m hurdles (Rossi), 800m run (Ethan Lang) and the 4x400m relay (Albright, Jack Pakkebier, Lang, Churchman).
Full FHSU Results - Day 1
Women
100m Dash Prelims
8th - Lyric Holman - 11.59 Q
400m Hurdles Prelims
4th - Mattie Rossi - 59.19 Q
Heptathlon
4th - Mattie Rossi - 3,174
100mH - 13.69 - 1,023
HJ - 5-3 - 736
SP - 32-2 - 516
200m - 24.87 - 899
LJ -
JT -
800m -
Men
10,000m Run
12th - Robbie Schmidt - 29:49.66 &
4x400m Relay Prelims
12th - Cole Diffenbaugh, Hayden Albright, Xavier Robinson, Philip Landrum - 41.76
Pole Vault
8th - Ryan Stanley - 16-8.75 - 1 team point @
9th - Jacob Clark - 16-8.75 &
Decathlon
1st - Nolan Churchman - 4,017
100m - 10.68 - 933
LJ - 22-11.25 - 811
SP - 38-6.75 - 591
HJ - 6-5 - 767
400m - 47.87 - 915
110mH -
DT -
PV -
JT -
1,500m -
@ indicates first team All-America performance
& indicates second team All-America performance
Q indicates qualified for Saturday's finals
FHSU Athletics