WICHITA – The Kansas Wesleyan Indoor Track teams opened the 2021 season on a high note. New school records, event wins and several personal bests highlighted the weekend at the Friends / Shocker Track Club First Chance Qualifier on Saturday and Sunday at Wichita State’s Heskett Center.
Freshman Molly Watson (FR/Loveland, Colo.) set a new record for the indoor 200m, while finishing second with a time of 27.12. Tabetha Deines (JR/Salina, Kan.) set a new indoor record in the 1000m easily winning the event with a time of 3:00.74, winning by 14 seconds.
Deines also qualified for the NAIA National Championships with her time, hitting the NAIA “A” Standard.
The Coyotes also swept both sessions of the mile run. Deines won the women’s race, with a time of 5:28.19; and Jacob Lovell (SR/Junction City, Kan.) won the men’s race with a time of 4:38.50.
Lovell also picked up a win in the 3000m with a time of 9:20.44 with a seven-second victory. He was joined by teammates Shane Calvin (FR/Lakin, Kan.) finishing 11th in 9:50.29, Timothy Kilburn (FR/Phoenix, Ariz.) in 14th in 10:02.71, Austin Hess (FR/Garden City, Kan.) 15th in 10:04.46 and Steven Merrill (FR/Arvada, Colo.) 18th in 10:10.76.
Stephanie Martinez (JR/Horizon City, Texas) was fourth in the 3000m in 11:14.85, Daniella Goana was 10th in 11:57.66, and Jadin Bezdicek (SR/Jackson, Minn.) was 11th in 12:32.55.
In the men’s 400m, Eugene Dixon (JR/Plymouth, Minn.) picked up a second place finish with a time of 51.45, while teammates Erik Kyer finished fourth with a 52.63. The Coyotes also got a second place finish in the women’s 400m by Watson with a time of 61.63, while Shelbie Luney (FR/Pleasanton, Kan.) finished fourth with a time of 69.29.
Dixon also finished eighth in the 200m with a time of 23.53, while Kyser was 12th with a time of 23.88 and Nigel Davis (SR/South Los Angeles, Calif.) was 18th with a time of 24.25. Luney placed tenth on the women’s side in the 200m with a time of 28.89.
Stephanie Martinez made it a 1-2 finish for the Coyotes in the mile by finishing second with a time of 5:43.79, while Christina Tripp (FR/Dayton, Idaho) was fifth with a time of 5:56.09, Daniella Gaona (FR/Clifton, Texas) was seventh with a time of 5:57.24, Jadin Bezdicek was 12th with a time of 6:09.67, Regan Rhodes (SO/Mullinville, Kan.) was 13th with a time of 6:20.35 and Cindy Sheaffer (SO/Oberlin, Kan.) was 15th in 6:38.87.
Marisela Hernandez-Castro (SR/Olivehurst, Calif.) placed second in the women’s weight throw with a best toss of 12.98m. Rachael McWilliams (FR/Leavenworth, Kan.) was 5th with a best throw of 10.87m.
In the shot put McWilliams was sixth with a throw of 10.42m and Nicole Holaday (SO/Gove, Kan.) was seventh with a throw of 10.11m.
Trey Stamel was 11th in the 800m in 2:15.09 and Randall Thornton (FR/Salina, Kan.) was 12th in 2:26.20.
In the 1000m on the men’s side, Stramel finished 10th in 2:59.80, Daniel York (FR/Linn, Kan.) was 12th in 3:01.40, and Thornton was 13th in 3:08.65. On the women’s side Rhodes finished seventh in 3:32.04 and Sheaffer
Rhodes 7th 3:32.04, Sheaffer 3:54.13 was 12th in 3:54.13.
In the men’s mile, Calvin was sixth in 4:52.68, Kilburn was ninth in 4:55.82, Hess was 10th in 4:57.34, York was 11th in 4:58.73, and Merrill was 15th in 5:08.85.
The Coyotes will return to the Heskett Center on January 22-24 for the Friends Mid-Season NAIA Invitational. The KCAC Championships are February 18 and 19, also at the Heskett Center.
