KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Fort Hays State men’s track and field team swept the initial MIAA Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week honors, with individuals picking up both the track award and the field honor. Malcom Gardner was named the conference track athlete of the week while teammate Sam Dreiling earned co-field athlete of the week accolades.

Gardner earned the award after placing second in the 200m dash at the season-opening ESU Spring Invitational last Friday (March 16), crossing the line in 20.95. He was the top Division II finisher in the event, defeating all but one of the 51 other competitors in the race. His time was more than four-tenths of a second faster than the NCAA DII provisional mark and would be the fastest time in Division II so far this season had it not been wind-aided.

Less than a week after earning All-American honors during the indoor season, Dreiling opened the outdoor campaign in a strong fashion. The junior won the pole vault competition in Emporia after clearing the 16-4.75 bar on his third and final attempt. He provisionally qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the process and currently sits in fifth on the national performance list.