By JASON KETZ
Sports Editor
(WARRENSBURG, Mo., digitalBURG) — Three UCM throwers scored a combined 26 of the 36 total points that UCM scored during the 2016 NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships Friday, March 11 and Saturday, March 12.

During the two-day event, senior Heavin Warner scored a team high 16 points taking home a pair of second-place finishes in the weight throw and shot put, while fellow senior thrower Caniggia Raynor took home a second in the weight throw and junior Jacob Mahin took home seventh place in the shot put.

In her first event of the meet, Warner threw a meet record in the weight throw of 70-8 that only stood for a short time before Katelyn Long of Winona State threw a mark of 74-5.75 taking home top honors. Earning a second-place finish and eight team points, it was the sixth time in Warner’s career of earning All-American status.

“I hit right at my personal record in the weight throw,” Warner said. “I feel a sense of fulfillment with where I placed, and I felt like I did the best I possibly could.”

Tucker Woolsey, throwers coach at UCM, said he was proud of the way Warner was able to perform at the national championships.

“(Heavin) had an unbelievable meet,” Woolsey said. “She ended up getting second by the girl who threw the national record. Any other year besides this one she would have won it.”

On the men’s side, Raynor was the only other UCM athlete to earn points in day one of competition en route to a second-place finish in the weight throw with a mark of 70-10, which was only one centimeter off his personal best.

“It’s been a career goal of mine to take home the title or take second place,” Raynor said. “It was awesome to produce a near personal best right at the end of the season and to show my high level of competitiveness at the national meet.”

Raynor held the lead going into the final turn, but Jardan Crayon of Ashland took home the crown with a throw of 71-6.75.

“Caniggia was right there at the end,” Woolsey said. “He was leading the whole way until that final round, which is how it goes sometimes at the national meet.”

Junior Brittany Kallenberger was just one place shy of being an All-American with a ninth place finish in the high jump, while senior Jana Palmowski qualified for the finals of the mile with a 4:52.87, which is the second fastest time in UCM history.

Senior Blake Seitz ended day one of the heptathlon competition sitting in third place with 3,026 points thanks to winning the shot put with a mark of 45-6.5 and setting a new personal best in the high jump at 6-6.75.

Heading into the final day of competition, both teams experienced more highs and lows of the national meet before it was all said and done.

“At the national meet there are always a lot of ups and downs,” said Kip Janvrin, co-head track and field coach. “We had four second-place finishes at the national meet, but we train to be national champions and all of those kids wanted to win and perform at a high level but just didn’t quite get it done.”

Junior Katie Cassidy and senior Victoria Jackson both competed in the women’s pentathlon that began day two of competition. Heading into the final event, the 800m dash, Cassidy was sitting in 12th place, but with a personal best time of 2:16.16, she jumped four spots and earned 3,805 points and take home All-American honors with an eighth place finish. Jackson finished in 11th place with 3,717 points-highlighted by a pair of second-place finishes in the shot put and 60m hurdles.

Seitz started day two of the heptathlon, carrying his momentum from day one and setting a new personal best in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.78, but failed to clear in the pole vault portion and finished in 15th place with a total of 4,572 points.

After qualifying for the finals in the mile with the second fastest time in UCM history the day before, Palmowski ran a final heat 4:58.32 finishing in ninth place in the event.

Junior Cole Phillips was looking to All- American in the pole vault for the second time in his career after coming off an injury-filled outdoor national championships last May.

“Last year I didn’t get the opportunity to perform at the level I wanted to, so going into the national meet healthy was something I was grateful for,” Phillips said. “I wanted to make sure to clear bars on the first attempt, so it gave me the chance to secure a spot on the podium.”

For the second straight year, Phillips was able to secure that spot on the podium clearing the 17-1 bar to a second-place finish and earning eight team points.

“I knew that 17-8 was going to be able to win it, so I wasn’t exactly happy only jumping 17-1 but I was definitely happy with clearing jumps on my first attempt,” Phillips said.

The throwers picked up right where they left off after day one of competiton as Warner continued her pursuit of becoming a national champion throwing a new personal and school record 52-6.75 in the shot put. On Pittsburg State thrower Cassie Caswell’s final throw, however, she hit a new meet record mark of 55-7.75 taking home the top spot, giving Warner her second straight runner-up performance of the meet and her seventh career All-American award.

“She competed very well in the shot put,” Woolesy said. “But she got beat out by the second furthest throw in the history of indoor women’s shot put, so that was a big deal.”

After taking home a second-place finish at the MIAA championships in the shot put, Mahin took home a seventh-place finish with a mark of 56-10.75.

“It was a great feeling knowing that at my first national meet that I qualified for, that I got All-American,” Mahin said. “I was going into the meet feeling nervous, but with the help of Raynor and some of my other teammates, I was able to perform.”

Woolsey said that he could tell Mahin was nervous but he was able to compete when it mattered.

“(Mahin) was able to beat out several guys that were at the top so that was a big step for him in his development,” Woolsey said.

In the women’s 4x400m relay, the Jennies team of Cassidy, senior Nikki Douglas, freshman Emily Thole and junior Kailey Fuchs broke their own school record with a time of 3:45.87, finishing eighth becoming the first Jennies relay team to All-American at the indoor national championships and just the second Jennies team to place at the national championships.

“It’s an interesting group,” Janvrin said. “Those girls broke our school record and ran exceptionally well, and with all of their families there, it created a lot of energy, which was fun to see.”

Both teams ended the meet with 18 team points finishing in 11th place. Warner scored 16 points, while Phillips and Raynor added eight each. Mahin’s seventh place finish earned two team points, while Cassidy earned a pair of points both in the pentathlon and as a member of the 4x400m relay team.

With the indoor season now completed, it’s now time for the start of the outdoor season, as with a new season comes new possibilities.

“This is a difficult time for the last two weeks, because of some people training for conference and national meet training differently than others, so now we are going to get everyone back on the same page and back into consistent training to get ready for the outdoor season,” Janvrin said.

UCM will compete in its first outdoor meet of the season at the Emporia State Relays on Saturday, April 2, in Emporia, Kansas.