The two-day meet at the Wichita State Herm Wilson Invitational last Wednesday and Thursday was a success for the Emporia State track and field team.
The men walked away with a second place finish. The women not only secured a second place finish, but they also had a school record.
“I think this was the best we have ever done at a Wichita meet,” said Head Coach Steven Blocker. “Coming off a three-week break, you never know what you are going to get.”
Andrew Etheridge, junior hurdler and sprinter, won the 60 meter hurdles with a provisional qualifying time of 8.00 seconds. Derwin Hall, senior sprinter, ran 6.90 seconds in the 60 meter dash and placed fourth.
Dwayne Hall, senior jumper, placed second in the triple jump, and Lucas San Martin, senior thrower, placed second in the shot-put.
Marqueita Marisette, senior sprinter, placed second in the 200 meter dash with a fourth best in the nation time of 25.25 seconds. Jackie Jacobs, senior sprinter, finished third in the same race with a time of 25.69 seconds.
Misty Lowe, junior thrower, crushed the competition with a shot put of 12.89 meters and landed first place. Carmen King, sophomore jumper and sprinter, finished second in long jump with 5.49 meter jump. Dominique Staats, freshman sprinter, finished second in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:24 minutes.
“Personally, it went well,” Staats, a psychology major, said. “As a team, we did pretty well, also. It’s hard to come off of a break and have a meet right away, but we made it through and did some good work.”
Maggie Wilson, sophomore pole vaulter, had her personal best in pole vault with a mark of 11-11.75. She is currently ranked 12th in the nation and was also named the MIAA Women’s Field Athlete of the Week.
“We did really well, but just like any sport, it’s not how you start; it is how you finish,” Blocker said.
Briar Ploude, senior history major and high jumper, received the MIAA Men’s Field Athlete of the Week award, winning the high jump with a mark of 7-00.25. Ploude has the nation’s best jump of the season of 7-02.50 and is automatically qualified for nationals.
“Well, it wasn’t really what I wanted in terms of height,” Ploude said. “I wanted to get up around 7’2” again for the second meet in a row, but I can’t complain with starting a season off over 7’ twice…hopefully, all the work we put in as a team over the first semester can help us push through the season and really show up at the big meets, where we need it.”
The Hornets take the track again tomorrow at the University of Central Missouri Invitational in Warrensburg, Mo.