(HAYS, Kan.) – Three Mules earned individual conference titles at the final day of competition at the MIAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Sunday afternoon at Fort Hays State. Freshman Kellin Loch defended his indoor title in the 800-meters, while senior Dalton Moberly claimed the 5,000-meter title and freshman Chris Swearingin broke the UCM record in the javelin en route to his first championship title.
As a team, the Mules finished 3rd in the overall standings, collecting 113 points over the 21 events. The Jennies earned a fifth place finish as a team, with 76.5 points. Pittsburg State won the men’s title for the second straight year, while the Lincoln women pulled off the double, winning both the indoor and outdoor MIAA titles.
Loch was the top qualifier entering Sunday’s final in the 800-meters, and followed through with the victory, posting a time of 1:52.38, more than a second faster than his preliminary time. Loch edged out Lincoln’s Jermaine Blake for the second consecutive time at a conference championship meet; during the indoor Championships, the Warrensburg native claimed his first MIAA title by just 0.01 seconds over Blake. On Sunday, Loch stretched his margin of victory to a comfortable 0.61 seconds over the Blue Tiger. The freshman has now won four races in the 800 meters over his young career, in just six starts in the event.
Moberly earned All-MIAA honors in the 10,000-meters on Saturday, and followed that up with his first victory of the outdoor season in the 5,000-meters on Sunday. Moberly posted a time of 14:53.18, the only athlete to break the 15-minute mark in the race. The Kearney native claims his first MIAA championship in any event, and currently ranks 26th in the event nationally. Teammate Tyler Stuber also had a strong showing in the race, finishing in fifth with a time of 15:06.31.
In his only event of the Championships, Swearingin took the title in the javelin with a throw of 203′ (61.88m), setting a new Central Missouri record in the process. The freshman moves up to 13th on the national performance list, placing himself in contention for a trip to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships later this month. Senior Carl McCargo finished second in the event, with a throw of 200′ 3″ (61.04m), to earn All-MIAA honors. McCargo’s mark also broke the previous UCM record, as both athletes are the only two in program history to surpass the 200-foot mark in the javelin throw, breaking Connor Coleman’s 2011 record toss of 199′ 8″.
For the Jennies, a trio of athletes earned All-MIAA honors, as junior Zoe Sharplin placed third in the 100-meter hurdles, junior Mary Riley earned a second-place result in the javelin, and freshman Brittany Kallenberger finished third in the pole vault. Sharplin posted a time of 13.99, becoming the second athlete in Jennies history to break the 14-second mark, just behind Lindsay Lettow’s record time of 13.69 from last year. Sharplin moves into 22nd on the national performance list, and sets a personal record in the event. Riley recorded a throw of 147′ 8″ (45.01m) on her final attempt to leap from seventh place into the top three, earning all-conference honors. Kallenberger posted a new career high in the pole vault, clearing the bar at 12′ 1.5″ (3.70m), and moving into the top 25 nationally. The freshman also had a strong performance in the high jump, posting a mark of 5′ 5″ (1.65m) to place sixth.
A pair of Mules picked up All-MIAA nods in the high jump, in juniors Devin Claypool and Kelvin Frank. Claypool cleared the bar at 6′ 10.75″ (2.10m) to finish as the conference runner up, with Frank posting a jump of 6′ 7.5″ (2.02m). Claypool’s jump matches his career high, and improves upon his season-best mark, moving him into 10th on the national performance list, and potentially into the field at the NCAA Championships.
Senior Zak Thompson earned All-MIAA honors with his second-place finish in the shot put, recording a throw of 55′ 3.75″ (16.86m). The provisional-qualifying throw is a new season-high for the All-American, who improves to 20th in the nation in the event.
Finally, the Mules’ 4×400 meter relay team of Daniel McCarty, Khaldon Evans, Brent Vogel, and Kellin Loch finished third to earn the All-MIAA nod, posting a provisional-qualifying time of 3:13.27. The team is already ranked ninth in the nation after their performance at the Drake Relays, with a time nearly three seconds faster.
A number of athletes scored for the Mules and Jennies in various events, including Kacy Hession in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (12:11.28, 6th),Joseph Holland in the 110-meter hurdles (14.47, 6th), Nikki Douglas in the 100-meter hurdles (14.51, 7th) and 400-meter hurdles (1:02.43, 5th), Khaldon Evans in the 400-meter dash (48.79, 6th), Cole Davis in the 800-meter run (1:54.19, 4th), Megan Glamann in the 5,000-meter run (18:25.05, 4th), Victoria Jackson in the shot put (42′ 3.25″, 12.88m, 6th), and Madison Smith and Bailea Hogan, both in the high jump (5′ 3″, 1.60m, t-8th).
The Mules and Jennies will head to Emporia State next weekend for the regular-season finale. The Emporia State Last Chance Qualifier is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, May 11.