(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) – A pair of Walton Stadium records fell Sunday, as the Central Missouri track & field squads posted strong performances throughout the UCM Mule Relays. Freshman Kellin Loch broke an 11-year record in the 800-meter run, winning the event in 1:50.16. His time broke former Mule Leif Kennedy’s winning time from the 2002 Mule Relays, and came up just a fraction of a second shy of an automatic qualifying time. Loch now owns the top time in the MIAA in the 800 meters, and is ranked sixth in NCAA Division II.
In the women’s hammer throw, Chandra Andrews broke the stadium record, which she originally set in 2008. Andrews, competing unattached, won the event with a throw of 214′ 5” (65.36m).
Central Missouri track & field picked up four other provisionals at the team’s lone home meet of the outdoor season. Freshman Brittany Kallenberger set a new personal record in the pole vault, as the Lee’s Summit native took first place, clearing the bar at 11′ 11.75” (3.65m). Kallenberger improves to 23^rd in the nation with the provisional mark, and now ranks second in the MIAA.
For the Mules, junior Devin Claypool matched his season high, winning the men’s high jump by defeating his teammate Kelvin Frank in a jump-off. Claypool cleared 6′ 9” (2.06m) to earn the win after clearing 6′ 8” along with Frank to force the jump-off.
Junior Mary Riley earned her second career victory in the javelin throw, with a provisional-qualifying throw of 140′ 5” (42.80m). Riley posted an automatic mark earlier this season, and has already earned a berth into the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships next month.
Zak Thompson picked up a second-place finish in the men’s shot put, throwing for a season-high 54′ 10.75” (16.73m). The performance puts the senior fourth in the MIAA this season, and 16th nationally, as Thompson earns a provisional qualifier.
The women’s 100-meter hurdles showcased the Jennies top sprinting talent, as UCM athletes went 1-2-3 in the final. Freshman Victoria Jackson won the event, finishing with a time of 14.30, followed by classmate Nikki Douglas (14.52) and sophomore Madison Smith (14.82). The win marks Jackson’s first in any event in her UCM career.
After heading into the finals of the 100-meter hurdles as the top qualifier, Douglas recovered from her second-place finish to win the 400-meter hurdles later in the day. The freshman finished the race in 1:03.77, just one-hundredth of a second shy of her personal record, which she set at Pittsburg State a week ago. Douglas currently holds the eighth-best time in the MIAA.
For the Mules, senior Bryson Jarman defended his Mule Relays title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, earning the victory in the event for the second straight season. Jarman posted a 9:38.54, shaving over a second and a half off his time from 2012. He now ranks fourth in the MIAA in the steeplechase after setting a new personal record. On the women’s side, sophomore Allie Rexroat placed third in the steeplechase, posting a personal record 11:57.19, good for fifth in the MIAA so far this season.
In the final event of the night, junior Tyler Stuber took first place in the 10,000 meter run, finishing in 31:40.55. Stuber moves into the top ten in the conference with that time, ranking ninth in the MIAA. Junior Ben Barrows placed second with a time of 32:09.99, moving into tenth on the conference performance list. Sophomore Courtney Klaty won the 10,000-meters on the women’s side, with a time of 40:47.74.
A pair of Mules just missed out on hitting provisional marks in the 110-meter hurdles, as sophomore Joseph Holland (14.41) and senior Brent Vogel (14.63) finished fourth and fifth, respectively. The final heat was run as a wind-aided race, however, as high gusts of wind affected the meet throughout the day.
With just two weeks until the MIAA Track & Field Championships, the Mules and Jennies hit the home stretch of the outdoor track season. UCM will travel to three different meets next week, including the illustrious Drake Relays, which begin Thursday, April 25. Parts of the team will also travel to the Simpson Twilight in Indianola, Iowa on Friday, April 26, and the Baker Wildcat Open, in Baldwin City, Kan. on Saturday, April 27.