(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) – A pair of seniors and a first-time conference champ claimed individual titles for the Central Missouri Mules Saturday.
It was the second day of the MIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in the Multipurpose Building. Senior, multi-event athlete, Brent Vogel claimed his second career MIAA title in the heptathlon, while classmate Laban Sialo won his second indoor 5,000-meter run title, and freshman Meelis Siimson claimed the MIAA triple jump in his first conference championship meet.
Vogel entered Saturday’s competition with a 17-point lead in the heptathlon over UNK’s Dillon Schrodt, with three events remaining. The Jefferson City native then extended his lead with a win in the 60-meter hurdles, and held on with strong results in the pole vault and 1,000-meter run to claim the victory.
Siimson then earned the second win for the Mules during the field events, besting a 16-man field with a jump of 49′ 1.75″ (14.98m). The Tallinn, Estonia native recorded his winning jump on just his second attempt, as no one was able to match his mark the rest of the way.
Sialo then capped off the day with a dominant win in the 5,000-meters, finishing the race in 14:42.10. The defending national champion in the indoor 5,000-meters, Sialo has now claimed five MIAA championships between the indoor and outdoor seasons in the 5,000 meters.
Also earning All-MIAA honors for the Mules was junior Devin Claypool in the high jump (6′ 9.5″, 3rd place).
For the Jennies, sophomore Brooke Swearingin earned All-MIAA status with her second-place finish in the women’s weight throw. Swearingin threw for a provisional mark of 58′ 6″ on her third attempt. She improves her standing on the national performance list as well, moving up to 17th in Division II. Sophomore Megan Glamann placed third in the women’s 5,000 meters, finishing in a personal-record 18:02.98.
A number of Mules and Jennies advanced through preliminary heats to earn spots in the final events to be held Sunday afternoon. Zoe Sharplin, after her win in the indoor pentathlon the day before, advanced to the final in the 60-meter hurdles. Juniors Ross Lorber and Ryan Mixdorf both qualified for the finals in the 600-yard run, finishing second and third, with times of 1:13.92 and 1:14.12, respectively. Freshman Kellin Loch won his heat in the 800-meters, qualifying for Sunday’s final with a time of 1:56.47. Freshman Cole Davis, besting his personal-record by over five seconds, also qualified with a sixth place finish in 1:55.43.
After six events on both the men’s and women’s sides, the Mules lead the overall team rankings, with 58 points, followed by Missouri Southern’s 46 and Pittsburg State’s 31. The Jennies are currently third in the women’s team standings, with 30 points, while the Missouri Southern women lead with 47.5 points, and the Lincoln women are second with 36.
The final day of the MIAA Championships will get underway at 10 a.m., with the finals for men’s long jump, pole vault, and weight throw, along with the women’s high jump, long jump, and shot put. The running events begin at 12:15 p.m., with all sprinting event finals, and the finals in the mile run, 3,000-meters, and mile relay.