The McPherson College indoor track and field team traveled to Joplin, Missouri, on Friday and Saturday for the Missouri Southern State University Invitational.
This was a good learning experience for our team, said Bart Gray, McPherson College head coach. We only have one senior (transfer Geralyn Hale) and no juniors, so competing at this level (against NCAA D-II and larger NAIA schools) was a new experience for most of our kids.
Top finisher for the Bulldog men was sophomore Troy Hernandez who placed 9th in the 600-yard run in a time of 1:20.85. Hernandez also placed 14th in the 5,000-meter run with teammate Bryan Grosbach placing 19th. If Troy keeps improving, he has a great shot at getting the national qualifier.
Leading sprinter for McPherson was Seth Cavanee who placed 22nd in the 60-meters dash and 23rd in the 200-meters. Seth ran away with his heat and eased up about three steps out, and ran 7.24. The national qualifying mark is 7.18, so those three steps were it. But, well take it and learn from it.
Freshman Val Thompson led the McPherson throwers with 23rd and 25th place finishes in the shot put and weight throw, tossing the implements 33 1.75 and 28 7, respectively.
For the Lady Bulldogs, Deidre Frager placed 11th in the 600-yard run just ahead of teammate Mandy Harvey. Katie Atwater placed 13th in the weight throw with a toss of 35 3.25 while Kelsy Hendricks led the way in the shot put with a throw of 33 1.
We have a nice group of young throwers. This was the first time most of them have ever thrown the weight in competition. Theyll get better!
MEN
60m Dash 22. Seth Cavanee 7.24, 25t. Preston Taylor 7.30, 47. Stacy Cavanee 7.96
200m Dash 23. Seth Cavanee 2.375, 47. Stacy Cavanee 26.34
600yd Run 9. Troy Hernandez 1:20.85
1-Mile Run 20. Bryan Grosbach 5:09.42
5,000m Run 14. Troy Hernanadez 17:33.30, 19. Bryan Grosbach 18:32.95
Shot Put 23. Val Thompson 33-01.75, 28. Dan Hudachek 30-00.75, 30. Scotty Phillips 26-11
35# Wt Throw 25. Val Thompson 28-07, 27. Dan Hudachek 27-06, 28. Scotty Phillips 25-10
WOMEN
60m Dash 25. Geralyn Hale 8.58
600yd Run 11. Deidre Frager 1:46.13, 12. Mandy Harvey 1:55.72
Shot Put 14. Kelsey Hendricks 33-01, 17. Katie Atwater 29-05.5
20# Wt Throw 13. Katie Atwater 35-03.25
This weekend, the Bulldogs will travel to Lawrence, Kan., for the University of Kansas Invitational on Friday, January 30, and then on Saturday the throwers will travel to Winfield for a throwers only meet being hosted by Southwestern College.