04/04/08
After hosting the opening meet of the outdoor season, Baker University men’s and women’s track and field teams ventured out into the western part of the state Friday and Saturday for the Alex Francis Invitational Meet.
The Wildcats faced tough National Collegiate Athletic Association competition at the meet, which was hosted by Fort Hays State University, but managed to hold their own as four Baker athletes won their events, two school records were broken and two Wildcats qualified for nationals.
Assistant coach Brent Randle said the Wildcats have continued to steadily improve with each week that passes.
“We had some good individual performances this past weekend at Fort Hays State,” he said. “So far, our athletes have continued to show signs of improvement from one meet to the next. Hopefully, we will have more individuals qualify for nationals in their respective events so we can have a strong contingent representing Baker in that competition.”
Sophomore Ashlee Miller and junior Chelsey Ornburn turned in strong performances over the weekend. Miller won the 200-meter dash, took third place in the 800-meter run, finished third in the long jump and placed fourth in the high jump.
Ornburn won the pole vault event with a jump of 11-1 3/4 and eclipsed the national qualifying mark. Following close behind Ornburn was junior Kayla Irwin, who took second in the event.
Ornburn said it was nice to have the stress of qualifying for nationals behind her.
“Every year one of our goals is to each qualify for nationals in our individual events,” she said. “Now that I have done that, I can focus on getting better at each competition and not have the pressure of having to hit a certain mark. It will allow me to be more relaxed now.”
On the men’s side, sophomore Aaron Hannon handed in another impressive performance as he posted a winning time of 15.55 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles.
Hannon said he doesn’t worry about the other runners he competes against, but said it does feel good to consistently get good results.
“When I run, I just focus on my strides and each hurdle,” he said. “My goal is to run the best race I can every time I run. Hopefully, my best is good enough to win each week.”
Sophomore Matthew James coasted to victory in the 400-meter hurdles. His time of 57.17 seconds was almost two seconds faster than the second place finisher.
In the men’s 100-meter dash, sophomore Kome Okiomah grabbed third place with a time of 10.71 seconds and hit the national qualifying mark in the sprint.
Both Wildcat teams will return to competition to host their second meet of the year, the Baker Quadrangular, Tuesday at Liston Stadium in Baldwin City.
