The Malone College men’s and women’s track & field teams sent 30 athletes (15 men, 15 women) to the NAIA Outdoor National Championships in Fresno, California last Thursday through Saturday as the men’s squad finished a very respectable 11th place, among 60 teams scoring points, while the women’s team finished 32nd among 61 teams. In addition, three Pioneer men’s athletes earned NAIA All-America honors while one Malone women’s athlete also earned the prestigious recognition.
The men’s team tallied 17 points for its 11th-place finish as Dickinson State (ND) University won the team title with 102 points. Lindenwood (MO) University was runner-up with 89 points. Roberts Wesleyan (NY) College, in 16th place with 13 points, and Cedarville University, in 34th place with 7 points, were the only other AMC schools to score a point at the national meet.
The Pioneer women chalked up seven points for their 32nd-place finish as Missouri Baptist University won the women’s team title with 126 points. Azusa Pacific (CA) University was second with 79 points. Cedarville, which finished 12th with 19 points, was the only AMC school to finish ahead of Malone as five AMC women’s programs scored points at the national meet.
For the Malone men, Nate Hughes (Jr., Worthington Christian H.S.) earned the top individual finish for the squad as he placed second and earned All-America honors in the 5,000-meter race walk in a time of 26:10.78.
Also earning All-America accolades for the men were Curtis Mortenson (Sr., Kodiak, AK) who finished fourth in the marathon in 2:31:06.56 and Leo Kormanik (Sr., Akron Ellet H.S.) who took sixth in the 5000 meters in 14:56.51.
Tyler Davis (So., Teays Valley H.S.) nearly captured All-America honors as he finished in a tie for seventh (just one spot out of All-American) in the high jump at 6’ 8”.
In the 10,000-meter event, Leo Kormanik finished in 11th (31:28.27) and Justin Baum (So., Kenston H.S.) took 18th (32:24.34).
In the 5,000-meter race walk, Joe Carmany (New Middletown Springfield H.S.) placed 10th (28:41.23), Bryan Lopes (So., Dublin Coffman H.S.) was 14th (30:46.71), Jeremiah Stauffer (So., Youngstown, OH) finished 15th (31:47.56) and Brad Sinick (Jr., Field H.S.) also competed in the event.
In the 5,000 meters, Nik Schweikert (Jr., Worthington Christian H.S.) finished 11th in 15:14.94 while Ryan Kienzle (So., GlenOak H.S.) posted a time of 15:48.80 in the preliminaries.
In the marathon, Ryan Hurley (Sr., Saline, MI) placed 14th in 2:39:05.40 while Ryan Crocker (Fr., CVCA) also competed but did not finish.
In the hammer throw, Chad Armstrong (Jr., Edgewood H.S.) finished in 24th place with a throw of 147’ 9”.
Brady West (Jr., West Muskingum H.S.) competed in the decathlon for the squad and finished in 13th place with a total of 6015 points. His marks and point totals for the various events were as follows: 100 meters (11.90; 671), long jump (6.19 meters; 628), shot put (36’ 4.75”; 551), high jump (5’ 9.25”; 593), 400 meters (53.16; 675), 110-meter hurdles (16.96; 628), discus (111’ 10”; 545), pole vault (11’ 11.75”; 522), javelin (164’ 5”; 590), 1500 meters (4:51.11; 612).
For the women, Lindsey Hipp (Sr., Amherst H.S.) earned the lone All-America honor for the squad as she took third place in the 3000-meter race walk in a time of 14:51.06.
Also competing in the race walk event were Ashley Thomas (Jr., Anchorage, AK), who finished eighth (16:02.53), Missy Walker (Jr., Piqua H.S.), who took 10th (16:53.61), and Brittani Lyons (Jr., Elizabeth City, NC), who finished in 15th place (19:00.18).
In the triple jump, Ashley Currence (Jr., East Canton H.S.) finished 14th with a leap of 11.41 meters.
In the hammer throw, Megan Gasparin (Sr., Renfrew, PA) came in 15th with a toss of 147’ 1” while Brooke Gasser (Jr., Norwayne H.S.) took 21st in the javelin with a throw of 118’ 2”.
In the 10,000 meters, Katie Bagley (Fr., Crestview H.S.) placed 13th in 39:12.94, Rebekah Genter (Fr., Crestview H.S.) finished 15th in 39:45.98, and Caity Schneider (Jr., Sandy Valley H.S.) came in 16th in 39:48.92.
In the marathon, Carrie Hart (Jr., LaBrae H.S.) placed 13th in 3:12:24.69 while Lauren Sloan (Jr., Kent Roosevelt H.S.) took 21st in 3:27:19.15.
In the 5000 meters, Joanna Genter (Jr., Crestview H.S.) posted a time of 18:14.14 in the preliminaries of the event while Megan Patton (Fr., Perry H.S.), in the prelims of the 400-meter hurdles, notched a time of 1:07.92.
Laura McElrath (So.,Tallmadge H.S.) competed in the heptathlon for the team and finished in ninth place overall with a total of 4313 points. Her marks and point totals for the various events were as follows: 100-meter hurdles (15.39; 791), high jump (4’ 11.5”; 632), shot put (28’ 7.5”; 446), 200 meters (26.26; 775), long jump (5.16 meters; 603), javelin (74’ 1”; 337), 800 meters (2:27.17; 729).
