Emporia State hosted its first track meet of the season on the newly renovated Witten Track at Welch Stadium on March 28. The ESU relays welcomed more than 30 collegiate teams and nearly 1,000 athletes, including three MIAA conference teams: Northwest Missouri, Missouri Southern, and Missouri Western.
On the women’s side, ESU had multiple top five finishes. Ashley Wildemen placed in the No. 4 spot in the women’s 100-meter dash with a time of 12.05. In the 100-meter hurdles, Isabel Vikoler claimed fifth place with a final time of 14.77. Both Abigael Reid and Kennedy Smith finish top five in the 400-meter hurdles.
In the relays section, ESU took three more top five spots in the 4×100, 4×400, and 4×800.
Other top five finishers include Savannah Stewart in pole vault, Jayda Harris in triple jump, and Ally Trier in javelin. Mele Taula had two respectable finishes in both javelin and shot put.
At the conclusion of the meet, the ESU women’s team finished second overall with a total of 86 points, just shy of first place where South Dakota State claimed 93.5 points for the win.
On the men’s side of the event, ESU compiled a total of 17 top five placements. Tyler Swift finished in fourth place in both the 1500-meter run and the 5000-meter run.
Travis Morrison had a first place victory in shot put with a throw of 18.57m, while Ty Anderson jumped 7.26m to claim a second place finish. Treyton Laurance posted a time of 33:24.97 in the 10000-meter run to claim fourth place overall. In the hurdle events, Jake Johnson and Xavier Hall placed in their respective events of the 400-meter hurdles and 110-meter hurdles.
In the relays section, ESU would claim four more top five spots in the 4×100, 4×400 and 4×800. The men’s 4×400 went on to close out the event, and the Hornets walked away with a first place finish as Jack Watson, Isaac Tarango, Andrew Holton and Jake Johnson ran 3:17.65.
The ESU men’s team took an overall win with 108 points. A total of 22 points separated first and second place as Indian Hills Community College would finish in second with 86 points. Missouri Southern followed with 75 points to round out the top three.
ESU track and field will continue their season on April 6 in Pittsburg, Kan. to compete in the David Suenram Gorilla Classic. They will return to Welch Stadium on April 11 to host the Midwest Classic.
