(DES MOINES, Iowa.) – The Central Missouri Mules and Jennies track squads competed throughout the Midwest over the weekend, including some strong performances at the prestigious Drake Relays. Nine athletes took part in the Relays, posting a pair of top-six performances in the 4×400 meter and 4×800 meter relays.
The combination of Daniel McCarty, Khaldon Evans, Brent Vogel, and Kellin Loch advanced to Saturday’s final of the 4×400 meter relay at Drake, where they placed sixth. Their time of 3:10.39 met the provisional qualifying standard, and places Central Missouri in fifth place on the NCAA Division II performance list. The pair of freshmen and seniors also record the second-fastest 4×400 meter relay time in school history, and the fastest by a Mules relay team since 2007.
The men’s 4×800 meter relay also had a good showing, as the group of Vogel, Cole Davis, Brady Jacobs, and Loch earned a fourth place result. The group finished in 7:39.36.
Senior Dalton Moberly picked up another provisional in the 5,000-meters at Drake, placing 14th with a time of 14:35.64. The Kearney native came up just shy of his season-best time of 14:26.68, coming at Washington University last month. Moberly ranks 23rd nationally, and tops the MIAA in the event.
Freshman Meelis Siimson also earned a provisional in the long jump, clearing 23′ 10.75” (7.28m) to finish 12th. Siimson, an All-MIAA performer in the indoor long jump, now ranks fourth in the conference and 19th in Division II.
Jacobs, along with Ryan Mixdorf, competed at the Kip Janvrin Open at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. The duo ran in the 800-meter run, with Jacobs bringing home a fourth-place finish, with a time of 1:54.06. Mixdorf placed 24th (1:56.10).
For the Jennies, junior Mary Riley was the lone representative at Drake, where she placed ninth in the javelin with a throw of 145′ 11” (44.48m). Riley is one of just five athletes in the country to reach the automatic qualifying standard in the javelin, having done so at Pittsburg State last month, and has already earned a berth into the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in May.
At the Baker Wildcat Open on Saturday, sophomore Joseph Holland earned his second career victory in the 110-meter hurdles, winning the event in 14.82 seconds. Holland has picked up two event wins in the last three weeks, after earning a provisional qualifying mark at the UCM Mule Relays last week, and ranks eighth in the MIAA this season.
Freshman Nikki Douglas picked up a pair of wins in the hurdle events, posting two personal records along the way. Douglas won the 100-meter hurdles at Baker, in a time of 14.47, missing out on a provisional by just 0.07 seconds. The freshman’s time goes down as the seventh-fastest in UCM history. Douglas then took first place in the 400-meter hurdles, with a new personal-best time of 1:03.21. A native of Ballwin, Mo. Douglas now has four victories in the last six days, after winning the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles at the UCM Mule Relays last Sunday.
In the throwing events, senior Zak Thompson had three top-three finishes, winning the shot put, taking second in the discus, and placing third in the hammer throw at Baker. An All-American last season, Thompson hit the provisional standard in two events Saturday, with a throw of 54′ 10” (16.71m) in the shot put, and another toss of 167′ 2” (50.95m) in the discus. Thompson currently ranks among the top-20 nationally in both events, sitting 13th in the discus, and 17th in the shot put. The Walnut Grove native is fourth, eighth, and eighth in the shot put, discus, and hammer throw, respectively, on the MIAA performance list.
The final provisional mark of the weekend went to the Jennies’ Brooke Swearingin, who placed third in the discus with a throw of 149′ 9” (45.64m). Swearingin ranks ninth in NCAA Division II in the discus.
The Mules and Jennies look ahead to the start of the outdoor track postseason, with the MIAA Outdoor Championships beginning next week, in Hays, Kan. The three-day meet begins Friday, May 3 and runs through the weekend.