Records that have been broken in the last two weeks include: men distance medley relay, women 4x100 relay, women 100 meter dash, women 100 meter hurdles and the women’s discus. This is perfect timing as the men and women’s squads are less than a week away from the conference championships.
Lawrence, Kansas (KU Relays)
Due to bad weather and poor meet conditions the men and women’s team endured some very tough races. The athletes that benefited the most from the weather were the 10,000 meter runners. On the women’s side, Courtney Ayers, Kristen Colon, and Erica Whitfield all three ran times that currently rank them in the top 8 in the conference. On the men’s side Michael McCampbell and Cameron Ayers both ran times that rank them in the top 10 in the conference.
The other big race of the weekend was the men’s distance medley relay team. The team consisted of Shawn Etzenhouser -1200 leg, Nathaniel Rogers – 400 leg, Vince Tichenor – 800 leg, and Jeremy Glassmaker – 1600 leg . Their time of 10:18.38 beat the record of 10:20.06 set in 2003 and placed them 4th out of 12 teams.
MSSU Invitational
In the women’s 100 meter dash Jenny Blair ran a 12.54 to surpass the current SBU record of 12.63 set by Yolanda Bess in 1990. Her time is currently ranked 8th in the conference. Katie ware and Atefah Heivary placed 7th and 13th both running personal bests. These three also came back later in the day to run the 200 meter dash placing 4th, 12th and 25th.
In the women’s 800 meter run, Alyssa Maggart and Mallory Roth placed 3rd and 5th after being tripped up in the first 200 meters of the race. Maggart and Roth are currently ranked 2nd and 5th in the conference.
Kelsi Chowning and Chelsea Strahm both ran personal bests in the 1500 meter run to place 2nd and 3rd. Their times of 4:47 and 4:54 rank them 3rd and 8th in the conference.
The women’s 3,000 meter run showed to be an exciting race for Kristen Colon who ran an eight second personal best by placing 2nd place, and not far behind was teammate Andrea Owensby in 4th place.
Jennifer Gillespie ran the 100 meter hurdles for the first time in her running career and placed 3rd place. Her time of 15.48 not only broke the SBU record (16.97) ran by Jeri Griffin in 1989, it also ranks her 10th in the conference. Gillespie also won the 400 meter hurdles by over one second bumping her up to 4th in the MIAA.
The women’s 4x100 (Kassidy Porter, Jennifer Gillespie, Katie Ware, and Jenny Blair) ran a 49.59 to place second. Their time broke the current record of 49.63 set in 2007.
In the women’s discus throw Jennifer Golden continues to break her own record. Her throw of 118-01 is currently ranked #14 in the conference, and for now the new school record.
In the men’s 100 and 200 Frank Grant Jr. made is 2008 outdoor rack debut by running 11.33 in the 100 meter dash and 22.92 in the 200 meter dash.
Jeff Weseloh (50.12) and Erik Johnson(51.76) placed 3rd and 10th in the 400 meter dash. Both Weseloh and Johnson ran season bests. Weseloh’s time is currently ranked 8th in the MIAA.
The men’s 800 meter run had four SBU runners in the top six positions. Michael Pierce (1:55.07) placed 2nd, while Jeremy Glassmaker, Shawn Etzenhouser, and Nathaniel Rogers finished 4, 5, 6.
SBU had two season best in the men’s 5,000 meter run. Josh Rollins lead the way with a 15:44.01 placing second while David Hackney was close behind with a 15:49. 37.
Michael McCampbell and Cameron Ayers ran the 3,000 meter steeplechase for the first time placing 2nd and 4th.
Coach Corey McElhaney commented: “Overall I was impressed by several performances, our sprints team really stepped up today and set three SBU records. It was nice to see them reap the benefits from all of their hard work. Coach Adkison has brought them a long way and has a great group. Next week everything we have done this entire year will come to test at our MIAA championships. We have several athletes that will be close to scoring in the conference. It has been a fun season and the team is excited to see what we can do.”