The Baker University men’s and women’s track teams got the outdoor season underway Friday and Saturday competing in the Missouri Relays in Columbia, Mo., against strong NCAA opponents.
The men’s team was lead by the performance of sophomore Brent Randle. He placed seventh in the long jump with a distance of 6.82 meters and eighth in the triple jump, after jumping 14.19 meters on his best attempt.
Randle said he was glad to be competing again after suffering a hamstring injury during the NAIA Indoor Championships in Johnson City, Tenn.
“It was nice to get back on the track and compete,” Randle said. “After not being able to finish the meet at the indoor nationals, I’ve been anxiously awaiting this meet. I think for the most part everyone came out and performed well. I think it was a good day for our teams.”
Randle also said it was good to be outside running again.
“I like the indoor season but it’s really nice to be able to run outside again.” Randle said. “I love the outdoor season.”
Randle also placed 29th in the 100-meter dash finishing the event in 11.28 seconds. Another great performance was turned in by Wildcat sophomore Alex Riester who placed 27th in the hammer throw with a throw that covered 33.16 meters and 33rd in the discuss with a toss of 35.31 meters.
The women’s team had strong performances turned in by a pair of true freshmen, Chelsey Ornburn and April Kruse. Ornburn finished 16th in the pole vault for the Wildcats covering a height of 2.9 meters. Kruse took 18th in the javelin throw with a toss of 28.96 meters.
“It has seemed like a while since the indoor season finished,” Ornburn said. “So it was great to get back on the track and compete. I feel like I got better today and I think the team as a whole performed pretty well.”
Other top Wildcat performances were turned in by senior Emily Nackley and freshman Trevor Gleason. Nackley placed 19th in the hammer throw and 20th in the javelin, with throws of 36.01 meters and 27.76 meters respectively. Gleason finished 24th in the long jump with a jump of 6.19 meters.
On Tuesday, the Wildcats’ men’s and women’s track teams competed in the Benedictine Quadrangular in Atchison.