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The men’s track and field team travelled to Emporia to compete in the Emporia State Spring Invitational on Friday, Mar. 19.
“I think the men did pretty well considering it was just throwers and the rest of the team wasn’t with them,” said Head Coach Russ Jewett. “(For the) first meet of the year, they did really well actually…”
Konner Swenson, senior in physical education, also thought the team performed well.
“I think the team did well at this competition,” Swenson said. “It was a good place to start for some of the younger guys and everybody still has… some tweaking to do in their form but everybody will be ready to go in the next coming weeks.”
Swenson won the discus and the shot put, picking up provisional qualifying marks along the way.
“It felt good to start off the outdoor season with a couple wins and I can never be upset with a day like that,” Swenson said. “I struggled in the hammer a little bit as I’m changing up my technique currently, but my goal is to score in all three events at outdoor nationals.”
Brett Thompson posted the fifth best throw in school history in the javelin, finishing in second place. Jerod Toogood secured a PQ mark with his second-place finish in the javelin and Josh Hudiburg placed fourth in the javelin as well. Levi Wyrick notched a PQ mark with his second-place finish in the hammer throw. Wyrick also placed fourth in the discus. Cole Sample won a PQ mark with his third-place throw in the shot put. Sam Thimmeseh placed fourth in the shot put.
“…Probably at top of the list I’d say (was) Brett Thompson,” Jewett said. “Big PR in the javelin thrower, 68.24 meters. That’s a very strong provisional qualifying mark. Also got provisional qualifying throws out of Jerod Toogood and Josh Hudiburg. So, the javelin was a really good event for us… We didn’t take anyone else except throwers, primarily to get some events in that we don’t have in the indoor season… Also, I think Konner Swenson had a great meet. He had a couple provisional qualifiers in the discus throw, 51 plus meters, and also in the shot put, 17.63… Cole Sample had a nice opener weekend as a freshman in both the discus and the shot. So, it went really well for them.”
Some of the same competitors stood out to Swenson.
“…(Brett Thompson) started off the season with an amazing series in the javelin with Josh Hudiburg, Jerod Toogood, and Kameron Swenson. Our four javelin throwers are in great shape and also are ready to go big in the throws.”
The track Gorillas are headed to Emporia again this weekend to compete in the Emporia State Relays from Friday, Mar. 26 to Saturday, Mar. 27.
“We’re taking a lot more of our team this time,” Jewett said. “We’re taking running events and field events… So, we’ll kind of get an idea of where we are as a team, not just with the throwers but with pretty much all the events. Anyway, what we’re looking for is folks to prepare themselves well and compete with intensity and focus and then if the performances are there, that’s great. If not, there’s plenty of track down the road where the performances will come. That’s what we’re looking for.”
