WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The John Brown University track and field program posted solid performances, including four top-10 program marks, at Central Missouri's Mule Relays on Friday (April 11) inside Audrey J. Walton Stadium.
Senior Andrew Morton continued his strong season in the sprints, advancing to the finals of the 100 meters where he placed fourth with a time of 10.88 seconds. Morton earlier qualified for the finals with a preliminary time of 10.68 seconds, the third-fastest time in program history. He also competed in the 200 meters, placing 12th overall with a time of 22.20 seconds.
Sophomore Emma Morton represented the women's sprinters in the 100 meters preliminaries, running 13.18 seconds.
Other men's sprinters included freshman Chase Stone, who ran 11.46 in the 100 meters preliminaries and 23.07 in the 200 meters. Freshmen Liam Van Der Horn and Nathan Dutil recorded times of 11.61 and 12.06, respectively, in the 100 meters preliminaries.
In the women's 800 meters, sophomore Anna Keys posted a strong performance with a time of 2:21.02, good for 11th place overall. This mark just missed the program's top 10 list.
Junior Matthew Cook represented the Golden Eagles in the men's 800 meters, recording a time of 1:57.92.
The 1,500 meters saw several JBU women in action, led by senior Mikey Duncan with a time of 5:05.80. Freshman Tori Calder followed with 5:19.42, while junior Emma Morton ran 5:21.63 and freshman Camryn Chaffin recorded 5:26.63.
"I'm incredibly proud of Mikey's new personal record in the 1,500 meters today," head coach Peter Cunningham noted. "She positioned herself near the front early in the race, and at the beginning of the final lap, she made a move, knowing the pace was lagging. Teammates commented on the impressively aggressive look on her face as she dominated her heat. It was a big day for Mikey."
In the men's 1,500 meters, freshman Samuel Burkett posted a time of 4:10.74.
Senior Josiah Petak led the men's distance squad in the 5,000 meters with a time of 15:32.83, which ranks just outside the program's top-10 all-time list.
Junior Hope Ahnfeldt paced the women's distance runners in the 5,000 meters with a time of 19:01.28, followed by senior Emma Brown who recorded 19:49.85.
The women's 4x400-meter relay team of Morton, Duncan, Keys and junior Naia Shepherd placed 10th overall with a time of 4:43.34.
On the men's side, the 4x400-meter relay squad consisting of sophomore Henry Zedler, freshman Eli Leach, junior Hayden Landers and sophomore Zach Briscoe recorded a time of 3:35.49, ranking seventh in program history.
In the field events, freshman Ben Coker recorded a mark of 6.38 meters in the long jump. Freshman Noah Osterloh competed in the triple jump with a distance of 12.82 meters.
Junior Nicole Basye competed in the women's triple jump, recording a mark of 8.82 meters.
Senior Grace Mitchell continued her strong performances in the pole vault, clearing 3.15 meters, improving her own second-best mark in program history.
"It was sweet to see the smile and pride on Grace Mitchell's face as she set a new season-best in the pole vault" added Cunningham "Today will serve as a big confidence booster for her, likely leading to new personal bests before the season is over.
"The most impactful moment of the day was watching teammates invested in each other's races. We have such an amazing crew of supportive, encouraging, and life-giving athletes. There's nothing better."
Senior Evie Scoles led the JBU throwers with a 14th-place finish in the women's shot put, recording a mark of 12.13 meters, which ranks among the top 10 performances in program history.
The Golden Eagles return to competition at the Kansas Relays in Lawrence, Kan., on April 17.
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