KCAC Track & Field Championships

McPherson didn’t come home from the 2004 KCAC with any gold medals, but the Bulldog men placed in 14 of 21 events and the Lady Bulldogs placed in nine, the best all around showing by a McPherson squad in several years.

 

Preston Taylor led the McPherson men by placing second in three events (100, 200, triple jump), including an automatic national qualifier in the 200 meters and a provision qualifier in the 100 meters, plus picking up a seventh in the long jump.  The conference meet was the first time this season he had competed in either jumping event.

 

Preston really had a great meet,” said McPherson coach Bart Gray.  “He was one of four athletes in the running for the meet’s Most Valuable Male Performer.”

 

“The 200 meters was a great race.  There were people lining the track from start to finish, cheering the guys on.  Both Preston and Howell (Aaron Howell of Friends) ran automatic times bettered than the old hand-timed record.”

 

Tim Cox placed in three events.  He broke two minutes for the first time this season to place fourth, then was sixth in the high jump and eighth in the triple jump.  The conference meet was the first time Cox had participated in the triple jump this spring.

 

“The (men’s) 800 (meters) was one of the highlight races of the meet.  There were four quality young men really fighting it out, and Tim was right in the mix.  We still hope to get him an opportunity in the next couple of weeks to run an 800 with fresh legs.”

 

Eddie Chavez duplicated Cox’s fourth and sixth place finishes.  Chavez’s came in the shot put and discus, where his toss was a new season best.

 

America Patton ran a season best in the 200 meters preliminaries, before finishing fifth in the finals.  Brandt Busse was able to sore arm the javelin to a fifth place finish.

Both the men’s 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays placed sixth, running with altered lineups due to the absence of short sprinter Seth Cavenee, out with a strained hamstring.

 

Klayton Keesling was seventh in the pole vault, while Stacy Cavenee, Bryan Grosbach, and Scotty Phillips wrapped up the men’s points with eighth place finishes in the long jump, 10,000 meters, and hammer throw, repectively.  Grosbach’s time in the 10-kilometer race knocked almost a minute off his previous best in Friday evening’s rain and dropping temperatures.  Scotty Phillips notched a five-foot improvement in his season best in the hammer throw.

 

Geralyn Hale placed in three events (100, 200, triple jump), topped by her fourth place finish in the shortest sprint.  She set a season best in placing fifth in the 200 meters, and rounded out her conference meet with an eighth place finish in the triple jump.

 

Beth Krehbiel duplicated Hale’s three top eight placing, topped by her fourth in the long hurdles, i.e., 400 meters.  She was also sixth in the short hurdles and eighth in the high jump.

 

Deidre Frager was fifth in the javelin while Rebecca Stover contributed a sixth place in the triple jump when she bounded to a season best.  Sheila Bevan’s eighth in place in the shot put with a season best rounded out the individual point production for the Lady Bulldogs.  The Bulldogs ran a 4 x 100 meter relay for the first time this season and came home in seventh place.

 

McPherson set a total of 18 season bests in the events Bulldogs had previously competed.

 

“We had several step up and compete in events for the first time this spring this weekend.  The conference meet is the one meet all year we ask the kids to go beyond themselves and go after team points.  With Seth (Cavenee, who was out with an injury), the men probably would have scored another 15 to 18 points.  But, injuries occur and everyone else has to step up in order to fill the gap.”

 

McPherson’s men finished in sixth place with 40 points while the Lady Bulldogs were eighth with 14.  Southwestern College easily swept the team titles.  The Moundbuilder men scored more than the next three teams combined (260 to 259) and their women scored just six points less than the next four teams combined (256 to 262).

 

The next two weeks will have the Bulldogs taking a limited squad to the Bethany Open and the Emporia Last Chance meet in an attempt to meet national qualifying standards.

 

Complete McPherson results:

MEN –

100m Dash – 2. Preston Taylor 10.89SB/PNQ (11.13p);  America Patton 11.18p;  Brandt Busse 11.67SB

200m Dash – 2. Preston Taylor 21.60SB/ANQ (21.94);  5. America Patton 22.62 (22.52pSB)

800m Run – 4. Tim Cox 1:57.92SB

1500m Run –  Tim Cox 4:39.78;  Bryan Grosbach 4:49.02

10,000m Run – 8. Bryan Grosbach 36:35.50SB

400m Hurdles – Stacy Cavenee 1:05.05p

4 x 100m Relay – 6. McPherson 44.81 (Klayton  Keesling, America Patton, Preston Taylor, Brandt Busse)

4 x 400m Relay – 6. McPherson  3:36.17 (America Patton, Bryan Grosbach, Preston Taylor, Tim Cox)

High Jump – 6. Tim Cox 6-3

Pole Vault – 7. Klayton Keesling 11-6

Long Jump – 7. Preston Taylor 20-2.75;  8. Stacy Cavenee 19-7SB

Triple Jump – 2. Preston Taylor 43-10.75;  8. Tim Cox 41-6.5

Shot Put – 4. Eddie Chavez 42-1

Discus – 6. Eddie Chavez 129-2SB;  Dan Hudachek 116-9;  Justin Ratliff 116-1SB

Hammer – 8. Scotty Phillips 110-4SB;  Val Thompson 104-11;  Brandt Busse 98-3;  Dan Hudachek 98-2;  Hayden Owen 89-5

Javelin – 5. Brandt Busse 154-2

 

WOMEN –

100m Dash – 4. Geralyn Hale 12.96 (12.93p);  Laura Engquist 14.50pSB

200m Dash – 5. Geralyn Hale 27.51SB (28.19p);  Laura Engquist 30.63SB

1500m Run –  Mandi Shobe 6:13.16SB;  Bethany Lobmeyer 6:21.27SB

5,000m Run –  Mandi Shobe 23:13.98;  Bethany Lobmeyer 24:35.03

 100m Hurdles – 6. Beth Krehbiel 17.63

400m Hurdles – 4. Beth Krehbiel 1:11.84SB

4 x 100m Relay – 7. McPherson 55.82 (Kelsey Hendricks, Laura Engquist, Beth Krehbiel, Rebecca Stover)

High Jump – 8. Beth Krehbiel 4-6

Long Jump –  Rebecca Stover 15-0.75

Triple Jump – 6. Rebecca Stover 33-8SB; 8. Geralyn Hale 31-10.5

Shot Put – 8. Sheila Bevan 34-3.75SB;  Kelsey Hendricks 32-11.5

Discus –  Katie Atwater 89-1;  Sheila Bevan 80-3

Hammer –  Katie Atwater 99-7

Javelin – 5. Deidre Frager 109-7;  Kelsey Hendricks 78-8;  Rachel Butler 71-10