LEAVENWORTH, Kan. -- The John Brown University men's and women's track and field teams launched their 2025 outdoor campaign at the St. Mary (Kan.) Spire Distance Carnival Friday (March 21) at Charles Berkel Memorial Stadium.
Both Golden Eagle relay squads claimed bronze in the 800-meter relay, highlighting a meet focused primarily on middle and long-distance events.
"Josh's 48-second PR in the 5,000 really stand out to me," head coach Peter Cunningham noted. "His training has been stellar lately — he's moved up training groups and is now rolling with some of our quicker teammates. He also had some meaningful motivators going into this race, and he used them well.
"On the women's side, we had two athletes returning from long-term injuries. Both Anna Claire Orr and Reagan Cartmill have been sidelined for quite a while. I'm just so thankful to see Reagan experiencing the fruit of her long-suffering and consistent return to running. Anna Claire also threw down a 1-second PR in the 5,000. I'm incredibly proud of all our athletes, but it's especially sweet to see people back on the oval after a long hiatus."
Senior Mikey Duncan paced the women's contingent in the middle distance events with a sixth-place finish in the 800 meters, crossing the line in 2:29.00. Freshman Hannah Foster finished the same event in 2:48.81.
Junior Hayden Landers led the JBU men in the 800 meters, recording a time of 2:11.42.
In the 1,500 meters, senior Anna Keys secured an 11th-place finish with a time of 4:56.42. Freshman Paige Andrews (5:26.09) and freshman Tori Calder (5:28.09) also competed in the women's division.
Junior Matthew Cook posted the top time for the Golden Eagle men in the 1,500 meters, finishing in 4:16.95. Sophomore Henry Zedler clocked 4:20.80, while sophomore Arpi Kovacs recorded a time of 4:58.65.
In distance competition, freshman Samuel Burkett claimed bronze in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:04.71, marking an impressive debut in the event.
Junior Naia Shepherd narrowly missed the podium with a fourth-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 13:48.08.
Senior Josiah Petak led the Golden Eagle contingent in the 5,000 meters, clocking 15:43.80. Freshman Joshua Freeman (16:07.96) and sophomore Zach Briscoe (16:12.44) followed closely behind.
Freshman Anna Claire Orr represented the women's team in the 5,000 meters, finishing in 21:19.18.
The Golden Eagles also performed well in relay events. The men's 800-meter relay team of Cook, Zedler, Burkett and Janzen secured a spot on the podium with bronze and a time of 8:08.39.
On the women's side, the quartet of Duncan, junior Emma Morton, Calder and Keys also captured bronze, finishing in 10:26.01.
The Golden Eagles return to action next weekend (March 28-29) at the Southwest Baptist (Mo.) Bearcat Invitational in Bolivar inside Plaster Stadium.
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