SPOKANE/SEATTLE, Wash. – Yet another student-athlete on the Corban University Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field teams has hit a qualifying mark in just the opening weeks of the winter season, as the Warriors completed the opening day at a pair of Washington meets on the eastern and western sides of the state earlier today. A single long distance racer took to the track at the Husky Classic, while the jumpers and throwers took to the pits and throwing lanes at the Whitworth Invitational.
To see the full results from day one of the Whitworth Invite, click HERE.
To see the results from the men's 3,000m racer at the Husky Classic, click HERE.
"Our day in Spokane was highlighted by Kayla's penthalon jump to qualify for the NAIA National Indoor Championships," Corban head coach Todd Bos shared when asked to highlight the day of multiple event participants across the Apple State. "Overall, I thought the group competed well. We have to remember that indoor is still a new experience for our track programs, and we are making strides as a group."
When asked to detail his smaller contingency that traveled up the I-5 interstate to Seattle instead of the cross-state journey to Spokane, Coach Bos stated, "Over in Seattle, Jack ran a good race for having interrupted his training the past few weeks and finished not too far off of the national qualifying mark as well. Tomorrow is another big day for the team as Braydon and Zander chase qualifying marks at UW and the rest of the runners compete in Spokane. We are praying for good health, focused efforts, and some confidence building results."
In the first pentathlon appearance of the season for redshirt sophomore Kayla Morgan, the Sisters native finished seventh overall out of a 13-woman field, with her biggest performance of the day coming in the women's high jump. Setting a new personal best of 1.65m allowed Morgan to win the event for the pentathlete group and hit the qualifying mark needed to earn a spot in the 2024 NAIA Indoor National Championships at the end of the month. She went on to place third in the women's long jump, eighth in the 800m, ninth in the 60m hurdles, and twelfth in shot put among pentathlon participants.
With the remainder of the Corban student-athletes in action at the Whitworth Invite participating in solely field events, both the men's and women's weight throw crews completed competition with a pair of personal records, one for each team. Sophomore Leah Twede hurled a new career-best mark of 11.95m on the women's side, while senior William Cordero matched Twede with an 11.95m toss of his own in the men's division. Junior Gabrielle Tata-Rodrigues was the top finisher for the women in 14th overall and a 12.56m launch, while senior Matthew Araki led the men with a 12.43m mark, good enough for 20th overall out of 35 total throwers.
The women's pole vault duo of junior Leah Nastri and freshman Johnna Waddell hit their first marks of the 2024 indoor season today after failing to meet their opening attempts in week one, with Nastri placing 18th overall via a 2.67m vault to tie the best NAIA finish, while Waddell clinched a 2.37m attempt and finished in 20th place.
The long jumping freshmen of Jackson Cook and Kirsten Kuenzi concluded the action in Spokane for the Warriors, as Cook placed 23rd with a 5.90m jump and Kuenzi placed 30th via her 4.27m horizontal leap.
In Seattle, freshman Jack Gladfelter competed for the first time since the middle of January in an attempt to hit the national qualifying mark for the men's 3,000m race. The Washington native came up just short in his home state, finishing with a final time of 8:41.24 and needing to shave off six seconds in the elongated event if he wants to book his own ticket to Brookings, South Dakota alongside Morgan and teammate Brayden Lee.
Coach Bos' program will send a pair of men's long distance runners to the track in the Dempsey Indoor Center back in Seattle for day two of the Husky Classic, while the remainder of the men's and women's programs will finish competition at the final day of action in Spokane.
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