The Baker University men’s and women’s track teams competed against some of the nation’s top athletes this past weekend at the Kansas Relays in Lawrence.

Junior Brent Randle led the charge for the men’s team, placing ninth in his best event, the triple jump, with a leap of 15 meters.

Randle said he was pleased with his performance in the event, but not quite satisfied.

“I was happy with the distance of the jump but not the way I jumped,” Randle said. “I know I can jump even further when my form is better.”

However, he said he was also considerably pleased with the overall performance of his team.

“I think as a whole, we held our own against some great national competition,” Randle said. “Every year the best of the best come to compete at the Kansas Relays. The tough athletes we faced pushed everyone and I think a lot of people got better this week.”

Improving a little bit every week is very important for himself and his teammates, Randle said.

“As individuals and as a team our main goal is to peak around conference and nationals,” Randle said. “We all want to be at our best at the biggest meets of the year.”

The women’s team was paced by the efforts of the 4 x 1 mile relay team. The all-freshmen team placed seventh in the event, finishing in a time of 24:32.93 minutes.

The four freshmen pacing the team were Katie James, Amber Keith, Ariel Penner and Shawnee Barron.