The Baker indoor track and field team traveled to Lincoln, Neb., last Friday to compete in the Nebraska Wesleyan University Triangular where four Baker athletes won their respective events.

“I was really excited to win my event,” freshman Lexie Hamilton said.

Hamilton won the women’s triple jump event with a distance of 10.49. She also hopes to qualify for nationals Friday at Graceland University in the triple jump.

“I am really excited at the thought of it,” she said. “How many freshman get the chance to go to nationals?”

Senior Chelsey Ornburn won the women’s pole vault with a height of 3.51 meters, a lifetime personal record for Ornburn.

“It is always exciting to see someone hit lifetime PR’s for the indoor season,” head coach Zach Kindler said.

Ornburn will be competing in the pole vault at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national championships in Tennessee.

Freshman Nick Pannell and junior Brian Korn also took first in their events, winning the men’s 600-meter run and the men’s shot put, respectively.

Junior Kome Okiomah, a national qualifier for indoor track, said Friday’s meet was not his best showing.

“I didn’t finish well,” he said. “It just wasn’t a good track meet for me.”

Okiomah said he had overslept for his first event cutting out time for a good warm up.

“I wasn’t really responsible,” Okiomah said.

Following the meet, Okiomah was involved in a car accident Saturday and sustained a back injury.

Okiomah said he had a bad case of whiplash and saw a doctor following the accident.

He will miss Friday’s meet at Graceland but Okiomah said he would be ready to go for the conference championships.

Coincidentally, Okiomah has not been able to compete at nationals because of injuries despite qualifying every year since his freshman year.

“I am really excited to go to nationals because it will be the first time I actually get to go and compete,” he said.

Kindler remains optimistic about the team.

“We’re still not close to the level we should be at this point in the season,” Kindler said. “But we are seeing improvement each week and that is really what we are looking for.”

Kindler said the intensity of practice this week was held back to give the athletes a chance to recover.