(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) — The full indoor track & field season opened up with three provisional qualifying performances by UCM athletes at the UCM Invite Friday night in the Multipurpose Building.
Senior Zak Thompson, junior Devin Claypool, and freshman Brittany Kallenberger each earned provisional marks, working their way toward a trip to the NCAA Championships this March.
Thompson started the meet off with a strong performance for the Mules, taking first place in the shot put, with a throw of 54-11 1/2. His mark currently ranks eighth in NCAA Division II, and tops in the MIAA. Thompson also posted a third-place result in the weight throw, with a toss of 54-4 3/4.
Claypool placed third in the high jump, 6-9 3/4, posting the sixth-best mark in the nation to date. The junior also finished second in the 400-meter run, 51.57, and ran the opening leg of the Mules’ 4×440 yard relay team that placed fourth.
Kallenberger, in her collegiate debut, placed third in the pole vault, clearing a height of 11-5 3/4. The freshman reached the same height as the event winner, but lost out on the tiebreaker to finish third. Kallenberger is now tied for fifth in the MIAA and 26th nationally in the pole vault.
While not reaching a provisional mark, Kallenberger did take home first place in the high jump, 5-3 3/4, reached the finals of the 60-meter hurdles, where she placed fourth, 9.36 seconds, and ran a leg of the 4×440 yard relay, finishing fourth.
The defending national champion in the 5,000-meter run, senior Laban Sialo, looked strong in his first performance of the indoor season. The Kapsabet, Kenya, native won the 3,000-meter run, finishing nearly 13 second ahead of the next finisher. Sialo just missed out on a provisional mark, finishing in 8:37.28. Junior Tyler Stuber, 8:50.00, placed second for the Mules.
The Jennies picked up a win in the throwing events as well, as sophomore Brooke Swearingin won the weight throw with a mark of 51 1/4. Swearingin moves into fourth place on the MIAA performance list as she recorded a personal record in the event.
UCM was dominant in the 600-yard run as the Jennies went 1-2 with freshmen Danielle Wigginton and Kaylee Herring before the Mules took the top three spots with Brent Vogel, Kellin Loch and Cole Davis. Vogel moved into third place on the MIAA performance list, and Wigginton improved to 15th.
Emporia State took home both men’s and women’s team titles, and the Jennies placed second on the women’s side and the Mules came in third.
UCM track and field is back in action next weekend when they head to Lawrence, Kan., to compete in the Jayhawk Classic on Jan. 25.