Joplin, MO - Seven Friends University Track & Field athlete’s hit five national qualifying standards this weekend at the Radio Shack Missouri Southern State University Open Invitational.
Friday night’s running events began with Lanae Kidd, Sara Wiebe, Megan Shepherd and Taylor Doll competing in the women’s distance melody relay. The Lady Flacons hit the provisional national qualifying standard, winning the 1200-400-800-1600 meter relay in 12:57.82. Six seconds better than second place, Dallas Baptist University.
“Lanae Kidd had a phenomenal leadoff leg and this set the tone for us and the other 3 girls just had to run solid thanks to Lanae. I thought all 4 girls competed well against a good field,” said Coach Brad Peterson.
Jordan Arnold and Matt Ditzler highlighted the Falcons running events with three total national qualifying marks. Jordan Arnold hit qualifying standards in the 3,000 meters and the mile; bringing her total national standard qualifications to three. Arnold, a sophomore from Lafayette, IN won the 3,000 meter race in 10:25.13 for an automatic berth and took third in the women’s elite mile, finishing in 5:16.91. Currently, Arnold has the nation’s eighth fastest 5,000 meter time. “Jordan ran the perfect race. She always follows the race plan and this paid off as she sat on the leader until 3 laps to go and took off for the win the last 3 laps,” said Coach Peterson. “She is becoming one of the best runners in all of NAIA and no one is more deserving. She works extremely hard.”
Karissa Cominator finished eighth in the 3,000 meter race in 11:11.59 and 17th in the mile, crossing at 5:39.79.
In the men’s 3,000 meter race, Matt Ditzler added his second national qualifying mark. Ditzler finished in 8:48.95 winning the event, edging Josh Mathis from Missouri Southern by two seconds. Ditzler currently has the nation’s fifth fastest 5,000 meter time. “Matt also followed the race plan, which was to run a tactical race and work on his kick. He showed that his kick is improving as he won going away,” noted Coach Peterson.
Also in the men’s 3,000 meters, Dan Neidlinger finished 11th (9:12.21). Neidlinger was seventh in the mile, finishing in 4:34.04; just ahead of teammate Allen Shockley who was 10th at 4:37.98.
Tim Patterson had a career day in the 5,000 meter race. Patterson finished third, crossing the finish line in 15:57.47. “Tim ran a phenomenal race in the 5,000. He had never broken 17:00 in his life and went out and broke 16:00! His hard work is paying off and I have a lot of faith in Tim on race day,” said Coach Peterson.
In the women’s 5,000 meters, junior Taylor Doll ran the majority of the race alone, winning the event in 19:31.92, almost duplicating her time from Nebraska last weekend. Doll won by 21 seconds over Katie Schmidt from Missouri Southern. There were three total competitors. “Taylor had to race by herself the whole way so to match her personal best with no competition was great for her,” added Coach Peterson.
Christopher Steen, a junior from Augusta, KS, finished third in the men’s 60 meter race. Steen crossed the finish line in 7.0007 seconds to capture a “B” qualifying standard. Also competing in the men’s 200 meter race, Steen bettered his time from Nebraska and finished fourth in 23.02.
“I was really happy for Chris,” said Coach Matt Kennedy. “I know he was a little disappointed with his race at Nebraska, so to come back this weekend, run well and qualify says a lot about his character.”
In other men’s action Quentin Benning was 17th in the 60 meter dash (7.34) and Damian Berry finished fourth in the 400 meter race (51.94).
Michael Gurley set a new personal record in the 800 meter race. He finished fourth in 2:00.88. “Michael ran an outstanding race, 4 seconds better than his lifetime best and is becoming an outstanding middle distance runner,” added Coach Peterson.
Doug Pierce made the 60 meter hurdle final, but did not improve on his 8.58 qualifying time. Seeded second entering Saturday afternoon’s final, Pierce finished fourth. His 8.58 prelim time is .08 off the provisional national standard. Peirce also competed in the men’s triple jump. His leap of 44-08.75 placed him third overall.
Competing in the women’s high jump, Sara Wiebe cleared 5-01.75 and finished 3rd. Megan Shepherd cleared 4-11.75 and finished tied for fourth with Pittsburg State’s Emily Middleton.
“All of our jumping events are still very rough. Right now we’re more concerned with building strength. Given that, I was very pleased with everyone’s efforts,” said Coach Matt Kennedy. “It’s a long season and we’re moving in the right direction. This was a good meet to open at. Now we know where we stand and what we need to work on.”
Wiebe and Shepherd also competed in the 600 yard run. Wiebe crossed the line fourth at 1:36.92 while Shepherd followed in eighth at 1:38.79 after falling with roughly 150 meters to go.
The Falcon Track & Field teams return to action this Friday in Lawrence at the Kansas Jayhawk Classic. In a scheduling change, the teams will not be traveling to Norman February 6 or February 13. A replacement meet for the February 13th weekend will be announced at a later time.
For complete results please click here.