Track teams take third consecutive indoor titles

Story by Lauren Bechard

Women’s Results

55-meter hurdles – Tyler Sloan

55-meter dash – Kiana Turner

200-meter dash – Billi Pipes

5,000-meter run – Megan Rosa

400-meter dash – Billi Pipes

600-yard run – Ariella Harrison

3,000-meter run – Megan Rosa

4×400-meter relay

Pentathlon – Jana Koegel

Weight throw – Valerie Schirmer

Triple jump – Kayla Hannam

Pole Vault – Katie Thurbon

Shot put – Valerie Schirmer

High jump – Kayla Hannam

Long jump – Kayla Hannam

Men’s Results

200-meter dash – Dayshawn Berndt

400-meter dash – Jeremy Gathright

600-yard run – Tyler Randall

1,000-meter run – Vincent Tadokoro

4×400-meter relay

Weight throw – Joshua Peck

Triple jump – Jeremy Gathright

Long jump – Greg Henning

It’s becoming routine for the Baker University track and field teams to bring home the conference titles.

On Saturday, the Wildcats swept the 2014 Heart of America Athletic Conference indoor track championships for the third year in a row in Lamoni, Iowa.

Winning 15 of the 21 total events, the BU women’s squad took first place with 374 points, which was 230 more points than second-place contender Benedictine College.

Kayla Hannam took first in high jump, long jump and triple jump. The junior surpassed the NAIA-A standard in both high jump and long jump, and broke her own school record with a 11.45-meter triple jump.

Hannam qualified for the national championship in all three events along with the pentathlon. Freshman Jana Koegel also qualified for the pentathlon after earning a team-high 3,107 points at the HAAC meet.

Senior Stephanie Nelson qualified for the national championship after a second-place finish at the conference meet with a 12.77-meter shot put throw, which was right behind the 12.78-meter first place throw from senior Valerie Schirmer.

The men took first in eight events, and qualified two more athletes for nationals, including freshman Seth Ahart and senior Chris Sipe to compete in the heptathlon event. Ahart scored 3,895 points at the conference meet with Sipe right behind him with 3,839 points.

Senior Jeremy Gathright won the triple jump for the fourth year in a row with a 14.14-meter leap.

The Baker University Athletic Department posted all of the results from the HAAC track meet here.

The NAIA National Indoor Championships will take place March 6-8 in Geneva, Ohio.