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FHSU track brings home seven first place finishes at Alex Francis Classic

HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State men’s track and field team claimed four individual first place finishes in their lone home meet of the season, the Alex Francis Classic. The event, which was moved up one day due to impending weather, was held in Hays and was the second outdoor meet of the season for the men.

Courtesy FHSU Athletics / Allie Schweizer

On the day, five Tigers finished in the top position in their events. Philip Landrum, who is coming off his indoor nationals appearance, finished in first in the 200-meters with a time of 21.37. In the 800-meters, Brett Meyer earned the top spot with a time of 1:54.24. In three field events the Tigers earned their high finish. Kolt Newell won his second-straight high jump event with a height of 6 feet, 6 ¾ inches. Cameron Fouts rounded out the top finishes for FHSU with his winning javelin throw of 184 feet, 9 inches.

Besides the first place finishes, the Tigers held their own on their home track as many ran away with top-ten finishes. In the 200-meters, Malcom Gardner finishes in the runner up position at 21.51, followed in fourth place by Brayden Soza at 22.25. Shane Finegan claimed ninth in the 400-meters with a time of 52.89, and Alex Barbosa finished in eighth place in the 800-meters at 1:59.91. Barbosa also earned a fifth place finish in the 1,500-meters with his time of 4:10.10.

In the 5,000-meters, Layton Werth ended in third place at 15:14.60, with Reed Rome coming in fourth (15:19.58), Israel Barco in sixth (15:38.35) and Kaleb Crum in ninth place (15:59.05). Sabino Medrano earned a fifth place finish in the 110-meter hurdles at 15.53 and Matthew Pieper finish in the top ten in tenth place at 16.40. In the extended version of the hurdles in the 400-meters, Pieper finished in fourth with a time of 58.23, followed by Medrano in fifth place with his time of 1:01.27.

Robert Loeffler earned a fourth place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with his mark of 10:18.62, as Peter Franklin earned fifth at 10:21.34 and Christopher Nemechek finishing in seventh with a time of 10:51.92. In relay runs, the quad of Soza, Landrum, Gardner and Adrian Soto finished in second place in the 4×100 with a time of 42.72. Four groups finished in the top-ten in the 4×400 version of the relays, including a second place finish by Gardner, Soto, Pieper and Jake Faerber with a time of 3:30.22.

Moving to field events, the Tigers were able to earn strong finishes throughout the remainder of the events. In the high jump, Lucas Broxterman finished in second place with his mark of 6 feet, 2 ¾ inches and Blayne Godshall earned a sixth place finish at 5 feet, 10 ¾ inches. In the pole vault, four Tigers placed well, led by Mark Faber in second at 15 feet, 3 inches. Ryan Stanley came in fourth (14 feet, 9 inches), Jonathan Ball in sixth (14 feet, 3 ¼ inches) and Brandon Ball (13 feet, 9 ¼ inches) all achieved strong marks at home.

Broxterman added a ninth place finish in the long jump to his day after jumping a mark of 21 feet, 9 ½ inches. In the shot put, Gilbert Peters earned fifth place with a throw of 48 feet, 10 ¾ inches and Sam Garrison finished in sixth with his 48 feet, 4 inch performance. Peters added a fifth place finish in the discus with a throw of 149 feet, 10 inches, followed by Jacob Gaughan in seventh with a throw of 146 feet, 5 inches and Sam Garrison in ninth at 135 feet, 11 inches.

Rounding out the day for the Tigers was an eighth place finish in the hammer throw for Hunter DeGarmo with a distance of 152 feet, 2 inches, and a sixth place finish in the javelin by Trey Teeter with a throw of 162 feet, 4 inches.

The Tigers are back in action next Saturday (April 6) as they travel west to compete in the Colorado Invitational in Boulder, Colo.

The Tiger women capture three first place finishes
In their lone home meet of the season, the Fort Hays State women’s track and field team boasted a strong performance at the Alex Francis Classic. The event, which was moved up one day due to impending weather, was the second outdoor meet for the Tigers on the season.

Yessenia Gonzales captured first place in the 5,000-meters with a time of 18:37.37. Two Tigers claimed first in field events, with Summer Kragel earning the top finish in the high jump at 5 feet, 3 inches and Alexcia Deutscher in the javelin with her provisional and winning throw of 146 feet, 3 inches.

A handful of other Tigers performed strong on the day, finishing in the top-ten in a majority of the events. In the 100-meters, four FHSU athletes placed strong with Lindsay Shupe leading the way in second place at 12.19, Lyric Holman coming in third at 12.49, Bree Hysaw clocking in fourth at 12.54 and Peri Lange crossing the line in sixth place with a time of 12.95. Shupe, Holman and Hysaw also placed in the 200-meters, coming in second (25.50), eighth (26.55) and tenth (27.26).

Lucy Giles finished in eighth place in the 400-meters with a time of 1:04.28, and Grace Buessing placed third in the 800-meters at 2:24.45, followed closely behind by Averi Wilson in sixth with a time of 2:36.28. Wilson also placed in the 1,500-meters coming in fourth at 5:17.03.

Abigail Stewart earned a runner-up finish in the 5,000-meters with her time of 19:25.47, with Tessa Durnell clocking in fourth place at 19:49.87. In the 100-meter hurdles, Haley George captured a seventh place finish with her time of 16.32. In the longer, 400-meter hurdles, Lange finished in the runner-up position with a time of 1:07.51. Courtney Batchman finished the event in eighth place at 1:12.99 followed behind by George in ninth place at 1:18.47.

In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Rylea Oliver finished in second place at 12:47.26 and Carson Pierce clocked a third place time of 13:01.20. Three 4×400 relay teams finished in the top-five, with the quad of Holman, Hysaw, Abby Burton and Shupe coming in second with a time of 4:17.91.

Moving to field events, Cheyenne Nickelson earned a fourth place finish in the pole vault with a jump of 9 feet, 6 ¼ inches. Haley Jones finished in third place in the high jump at 5 feet, 1 inch, with Robin Ritsema coming in third as well at the same height. In the long jump, Kayla Smith earned fifth place at 18 feet, ¼ inches and Rohey Singhateh finished in seventh with a jump of 17 feet, 9 ¾ inches. Singhateh claimed second in the triple jump, earning a distance of 38 feet, 5 ½ inches. Smith followed Singhateh by coming in fourth with her jump of 37 feet, 1/5 inches.

In the discus, Laurel Haley finished in sixth place at 128 feet, ½ inches and Logan Batchman earned ninth at 110 feet, 11 inches. Julia Wagner earned fifth place in the hammer throw with her attempt of 152 feet, 10 inches. In the javelin, two other Tigers finished behind Deutscher as Kalynn Foster earned second place at 123 feet 9 inches and Kaci Vaughan captured fourth place at 114 feet, 3 inches.

The Tigers are back in action next Saturday (April 6) as they travel west to compete in the Colorado Invitational in Boulder, Colo.

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