[Indoor Track and Field] Men's Indoor Track & Field Falcons hold firm at sixth, Women surge ...
NEW ORLEANS – The Friends University Men's Indoor Track & Field Falcons remain sixth in this week's edition of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association rating index, while the Falcon Women have entered the rankings with a flourish and are now 12th.
The Men's Falcons continued their collection of event titles and national standards, with Brayden Wells (SR/Wichita, Kan. ) securing the men's weight throw championship with an NAIA "A" and "B" standard mark of 18.15m at this past weekend's Washburn Open.
Marcquiece Cade (FR/Concordia, Kan. ) recorded a strong effort in the Heptathlon with a top-three finish and an NAIA "B" standard point total of 4,974 points to earn the top KCAC men's indoor field weekly honor.
Isaac Campbell (SR/Sedan, Kan.) then produced a second-place finish in the men's shot put by hitting both the NAIA "A" and "B" standard (16.03m) along with Emad Bashir-Mohammed hitting both national standards with an eighth-place showing (8.20.18) in the 3,000 meter run.
"We had a strong weekend of performances and it is nice to see the men hold steady in the Top 10 nationally," said Friends track & field head coach Henry Brun. "I can see them potentially creeping into a top five position as they are catching their stride just in time for the KCAC meet."
On the women's side, the Falcons surge into the rankings after Kortney Schutt made her season debut with a loud statement by winning the women's weight throw at the Washburn Open by achieving both the NAIA "A" and "B" standard with a throw of 16.64m to receive the KCAC Women's Field Athlete of the Week nod. Schutt wasn't through and finished in the top five in the shot put with another NAIA "B" standard mark (13.09m).
The Falcons also got a critical NAIA "A" and "B" standard performance and a top-five result in the women's distance medley relay (12:23.23) from the team of Aileen Gurrola (SR/Garden City, Kan.), Kaitlynn Massey (JR/Granby, Mo. ), Aubry Donley (JR/Lincoln, Kan. ) and Caroline Giles (JR/Minneapolis, Kan.).
"I knew the women would jump into the Top 25 this week after our DMR punched their ticket to nationals and Kortney had her season debut," said Brun. "There is some potential for us to continue to move up as well since we are finally getting more races under our belt after a slow start to the indoor season."
This weekend, the Falcons will have split squads competing, starting with the Concordia Classic on Friday (Feb. 4) in Concordia, Neb. and the Bearcat Invite Saturday (Feb. 5) in Maryville, Mo.
"This weekend we are splitting the squads between Concordia (NE) and NW Missouri to attack some more conference marks and we are hoping to add a couple more athletes to the national trip," said Brun.
"This is the part of the season our coaching staff loves the most because we begin to see the final results of all of our hard work this fall and winter. I believe our teams are up for the challenges ahead in the next month."