TABOR COLLEGE: Women's team takes Tabor invite
Bluejay men's team finishes runner-up
to Cowley County
Gusting winds and grueling competition were not enough to stop the Lady Bluejay track team from taking first place in April 16's Tabor Invitational meet in Hillsboro.
Paced by two first place finishes, the Lady Bluejays edged rival Southwestern for the top spot, 98-85.
The men's team finished runner-up to Cowley County, 115-95, snagging four first place finishes.
"All in all it was a great meet for both teams in very stiff competition," Bluejay coach Dave Kroeker said. "I thought we competed very well on the track and in the field.
"We had a number of personal best performances in very windy conditions and that speaks well of where we are going into the final several weeks of the season."
In men's action, Landon Goertzen won his fourth consecutive 800 meter race, finishing in 1:59.
Kevin Nickel took first in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 10:00, fighting off a valiant effort from runner-up teammate Ryan Sperling, who finished exactly a minute in back of Nickel.
Promising freshman Pete Richert won the 1500 meter run in 4:16.
Richert and Goertzen teamed up with Brian Lightner and Jeremiah Randall to win the men's 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:30.
Lightner was also the runner-up in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles, running a 58.62 race.
Nickel completed his day, capturing a bronze medal in the 5000 meter race in 16:57.
Rounding out the highlights for the men's team was Brent Brockmueller heaving the hammer a third-place distance of 149-6.
Other notable men's performances included the 2002 Class 3A state champion pole vaulter, Fort Hays State's Sheldon Funk returning home to clear a third-place height of 14-6.
Both of the Lady Bluejays' top finishes involved Angela Jost.
Jost ran a meet-best time of 5:09 in the 1500 meters while joining Karen Patton, Becky Jons and Shannon Kroeker to beat Butler County in the 4x800 meter relay.
Tabor's first-place time of 10:32 beat the Grizzlies by more than a half-minute.
Jost also earned a bronze medal for the day, running 800 meters in 2:32.
Tamara McCarren qualified for the NAIA National Meet, heaving the discus a second place distance of 148-6.5, bettering her own school record by more than seven feet.
McCarren finished third in shot put with a 39-6.25 heave while breaking her own school record in the hammer throw with a 125-9 toss.
Lahna Daugherty finished runner up in the 400 meter hurdles in 1:14 to round out the Lady Bluejays' second place finishers.
Christine Van Doren took third, running a 100 meter time of 13:54, Rachel Evans ran a 15.39 100 meter hurdle race and Mandi Janzen leaped a third-place height of 5-0 in the high jump.
"We will be gearing up for the KCAC meet at Friends in a couple of weeks," said Dave Kroeker, "and we are starting to peak at the right time."
Up next for the Bluejay tracksters is the Southwestern Relays April 26 at Winfield.
women's results
100m — 3. Van Doren, 13:54. 200m — 7. Carissa Litton, 28.11. 800m — 3. Jost, 2:32.11; 8. S. Kroeker, 2:44; 10. Richert, 2:45.90. 1,500m — 1. Jost, 5:09. 3,000m — 5. E. Voth, 14:55. 5,000m — 5. K. Patton, 22:59. 100m — 3. R. Evans, 15.39; 7. Lahna Daugherty, 16.64. 400m low hurdles — 2. Daugherty, 1:14.90. 4x400 — 3. Tabor, 52.56. 4x400 — 2. Tabor, 4:31.27. 4x800 — 1. Tabor, 10;32.03. High jump — 3. Janzen, 5'; 4. S. Kroeker, 4'10"; 8. Litton. Pole vault — 9. Rachel Kostner, 8'. Long jump — 4. Van Doren, 14'9.5". Triple jump — 4. Van Doren, 32'4.5". Shot put — Tamara McCarren, 39' 6.5"; 15. Trista Hanley, 33' 8.5". Discus — 2. McCarren, 148' 6.5"; 8. Angela Kroeker, 113' .5"; 11. Hanley, 109' 1.5"; 19. Jen Hope, 69' 9". Hammer — 8. McCarren, 125' 9"; 11. Hope, 109"; 17. Hanley, 95' 9". Javelin — 15. Kostner, 95'.
men's results
100m — 12. Ernest Garza, 11.04; 15. Dwayne Cleaves, 11.28; 19. Nick Woods, 12.50. 200m — 8. Garza, 23.41; 14. Will Higerd, 24.17; 15. Cleaves, 24.24.; 21. Ricky Ishida, 24.95. 400m — 5. Jeremiah Randall, 53.47; 9. Robert Haude, 54.84; 15. Ishida, 56.25. 800m — 1. Landon Goertzen, 1:59.63; 17. Tim Stevens, 2:23. 1,500m — 1. Pete Richert, 4:16.47. 5,000m — 3. Kevin Nickel, 16:57.90. 10,000m — 4. Matt Lynam, 40:44. 110m high hurdles — 5. Matt Insley, 16.13. 400m int. hurdles — Brian Lightner, 58.62. 3,000m steeplechase — 1. Nickel, 10; 2. Ryan Sperling, 11. 4x400 — 2. Tabor, 44.36. 4x400 — 1. Tabor, 3:30.16. High jump — 5. Adam Penner, 6' 2". Pole vault — 12. Higerd, 10'. Long jump — 4. Lightner, 21' 1.5". Shot put — 7. Brent Brockmueller, 42' 5"; 10. Todd Harper, 41' 8"; 20. Lee Waldron, 34'3". Discus — 8. Harper, 132'4"' 13. Randall, 120' 9"; Brockmueller, 107'; Mike Beach, 100'6". Hammer — 3. Brockmueller, 149' 6"; Grant Myers, 110'. Javelin — 8. Willie Loopez, 163'2"; Lee Waldron, 145'2"
