Scots' track at two meets last weekend

The Monmouth College track team must be in good shape after competing at two large meets last weekend.

Team scores were not kept at the Drake Relays or the Loras Open, but the Fighting Scots were able to judge their progress by turning in numerous career-best performances. The women’s distance medley relay team got the weekend off on the right foot Friday at Drake. Rachel Bowden, Morgan Leffel, Alyssa Edwards and Mary Kate Beyer clocked a school-record time of 12:29.87 to place 11th at the prestigious meet.

Also at Drake, Kenzie Payton, Bailey Jackson, Alexa Allen and Kaci Lierman clocked a Monmouth honor roll time in the 4x200. The quartet finished in 1:43.71 to place 10th.

Not all of the Scots traveled to Loras on Saturday, but a few did do double duty competing at Drake and Loras. Jae Moore missed the Drake event with a final exam presentation at Monmouth, but had an outstanding day Saturday at Loras. The senior clocked a personal-best 12.54 in the 100-meter dash to win the event. She also led a 1-2-3 finish in the 200 dash where she broke the tape in 26.05. Payton was second at 26.4 and Lierman took third with a 27.30.

Leffel and Jackson took the top two spots in the 400. Leffel’s 59.84 won over Jackson who ran a 1:00.80.

Bowden took top honors in the 800 while Beyer finished first in the 5,000. Bowden was just seconds off her own school record in winning the 800 with a 2:19.72. Beyer won the 5K by nearly a minute in 18:12.32. Sandwiched in between the distances, Alyssa Edwards ran a personal-best 5:00.29 to place second in the 1500.

Whitney Didier took time from the pole vault to win the 400 hurdles. The senior clocked a 1:07.48. She also took first in the pole vault, clearing 11’7-3/4”.

Moore and Didier added Aron Jackson and Haley Jones to the mix in the 4x400 relay. The foursome broke the tape in 4:08.71.

A personal-best and provisional qualifying mark was turned in by Emily Tysma in the high jump. After qualifying for the indoor nationals over the winter, Tysma high jumped 5’5” at Loras to provisionally qualify for the outdoor championships.

A provisional mark and personal-best was also recorded by Bailey Jackson in the triple jump. Her effort of 38’6-1/4” was just ahead of Mackinsey Marquith in second. Marquith also had a personal-best jump at 36’0-3/4”. She also placed first in the long jump at 17’4”.

Allison Devor and Amanda Streeter excelled in the throws. Devor took second in the shot put with a personal-best and provisional distance of 42’11-3/4”. Streeter also logged a career-best while finishing third at 41’8-3/4”.

On the men’s side at Loras, Logan Hohl, Daniel Garrett and Matt Gatlin won their running events. Hohl clocked a 49.65 in the 400 and Daniel’s 800 time of 1:59.60 was also good for first. Gatlin clocked a 33:19.88 for the win in the 10,000-meters where Jacob Barr was second in 33:52.56.

Hohl, Saidu Sesay, Kyle Prout and Kiante Green broke the tape in the 4x100 with a time of 42.82. Sesay, Daniel, Michael Davis and Brian Sullivan ran the winning time in the 4x400 at 3:27.12.

A pair of firsts were picked up by Michael Blodgett in the jumps. The senior won the triple jump with a career-best mark of 46’0-3/4’. Karston Anderson was right behind in second at 44’0-3/4”. Blodgett also soared 21’3-1/2” for the win in the long jump.

Like Blodgett, Peyton Lumzy also earned two wins in the field events. Lumzy and Sam Cokinos were 1-2 in the shot put. Lumzy outdistanced Cokinos with a throw of 50’4-1/2”. Cokinos tossed the shot 50’2”. Lumzy also won the discus with a heave of 149’. He then equaled his personal-best in the hammer throw, slinging the hammer 169’3” to place third.

Monmouth hosts their own invitational this Saturday. Field events will begin at noon, running events at 1:30.