[Indoor Track and Field] Indoor Track & Field Falcons set a good tone at First Chance Qualifier

WICHITA, Kan. – The Friends University Indoor Track & Field Falcons hosted a First Chance Qualifier yesterday (Jan. 8) at the Heskett Center on the campus of Wichita State University and produced performances and marks that should carry through the season. 

"This was a great "home" meet to kick off competition after the holiday break," said Friends track & field head coach Henry Brun. "I do want to thank everyone who helped us put this meet together for the second straight year – my coaching staff, our athletic trainers, our supportive administrative staff at Friends University, and our supporters in the Wichita community. It was really a collaborative effort in pulling off such a well-run competition."

The Falcons started the day on a high note with the field events, as Mackenzie Burns captured the women's weight throw championship with a mark of 15.26m.

The triple jump event was a sweep for the Falcons, with Elaina Henderson (SR/San Antonio, Texas) (11.30m) and Chiante Stewart (SR/Calhan, Co.) (14.06m) each coming out on top.

The Falcons weren't through being victorious in the field events as freshman Brian Sweney (FR/Kansas City, Mo.) won the men's pole vault (4.30m).

The winning didn't stop for the Falcons in the running portion, with freshman Shavonte Harris (FR/El Paso, Texas) taking the top spot in the 60m Hurdles.  Moriah Shaw (FR/Cove, Texas) ran a 9.52 to give the Falcons the top two spots in the event.

Kaitlynn Massey (JR/Granby, Mo. ) (400 meters, 1:02.28) and Aileen Gurrola (SR/Garden City, Kan.) (1,000 meters, 3:03.59) then recorded two more first-place showings for the Falcons.

Friends would cap the day in a big way when Eli Jacobson (SO/Towanda, Kan. ) won the 600 meter run (1:23.13) and Emad Bashir-Mohammed picked up where he left off in his standout cross country season by winning the one mile run (4:27.03).

Pablo Sanz-Rillo (FR/Madrid, Spain) and Gage Carr (SO/Bel Aire, Kan. ) posted times of 13:34.76 and 13:52.31 in the men's 3000m walk, respectively.

In the men's 4,000m DMR, the Falcons used a time of 10:23.27 to win the event.

Additional medal (top three) finishes for the Falcons included Massey (second, 200 meters, 26.71), Gurrola (second, 600 meters, 1:39.57), Isaac Campbell (SR/Sedan, Kan.) (second, weight throw, 15.85m & third, shot put, 15.41m), Allen Henderson (JR/San Antonio, Texas) (third, high jump, 1.98m), Kendra Blaylock (FR/Blue Ridge, Texas) (third, 400 meters, 1:03.07), Kayli Gonzales (second, 800 meters, 2:30.59), Emma Willour (SO/Potwin, Kan. ) (second, 3,000 meters, 11:39.52), Claire Dingler (FR/Colwich, Kan.) (second, one mile run, 5:53.52) and Gonzales (third, one mile run, 5:55.83).

"The athletes who did quality training during the break reaped the rewards in a big way," said Brun.

"I was very impressed with our field events – seeing personal bests in the throws, great improvements in the pole vault, and having a couple early national qualifiers in the jumps. The running events did not disappoint either. I was very pleased with many of the races on the track, many of which are great marks within the conference and quite a few that punched their ticket to nationals or were on the cusp of national qualifying. We have a lot to work on in these next few weeks and our staff is excited to get back to work in practices to see how we truly develop a well-rounded product for our championship portion of the season in February and March."

Next up for the Indoor Track & Field Falcons is the All Kansas Invite on Jan. 22 at Washburn University in Topeka, Kan.