By JASON KETZ
Sports Editor

(WARRENSBURG, Mo., digitalBURG) — Both the Mules and Jennies indoor track and field teams competed at the inaugural Pittsburg State Classic this past weekend at the Robert W. Plaster Center, which will host both the MIAA and national indoor championships this season.

PHOTO SUBMITTED BY UCM ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT
Junior pole-vaulter Cole Phillips competed at the 2015 outdoor national
championships and was recently named the MIAA Field Athlete of the Week after his performance at the Gorilla Indoor Invitational Feb. 12-13 where he
won the event with a jump of 16-8.

The meet was highlighted with a second place overall finish of the Jennies 4x400m relay team, consisting of junior Katie Cassidy, senior Nikki Douglas, junior Kailey Fuchs and freshman Emily Thole who broke the school record with a time of 3:48.53. This beats the previous time by just six one-hundredths of a second, which is a national provisional qualifying time.

“We were unsure of how they were going to perform,” said co-head coach Kip Janvrin. “It was the first race of the season for Nikki Douglas who has been battling a hamstring injury, and with Kailey Fuchs, we were a little concerned because of her previous race, how well she would compete.”

Fuchs won the 800m run with a time of 2:11.93, just one hour prior to competing in the relay, while fifth year senior Jana Palmowski finished just behind Fuchs to finish second. Fuchs’ time was good enough to become the third fastest in school history, and Palmowski’s time of 2:12.55 is the fourth fastest in school history.

The track wasn’t the only place where the Jennies picked up wins as defending indoor national champions. Senior thrower Heavin Warner won the weight throw and the shot put. Warner’s won the shot put with a mark of 49-9.25, while her weight throw of 68- 1.5 improved upon her personal best in the event.

“She loves to compete and win,” Janvrin said. “The dedication and extra work she puts in to get better is something she will need to continue because our conference has got a lot of great throwers for her to compete against.”

Freshman Stephanie Boan won the unseeded 3,000m run with a time of 10:29.81, which improved her personal best time. Junior Brittany Kallenberger won the unseeded high jump at 5-6.

On the men’s side, the Mules had a pair of first place finishes with senior thrower Caniggia Raynor and junior pole-vaulter Cole Phillips.

Raynor won the men’s weight throw with a mark of 68-1, while junior Jacob Mahin threw a new personal best mark of 56-8.75. This ties him for the fourth best throw in program history and improves his national qualifying mark.

“(Raynor) has come in with a great work ethic and has become a leader on our team,” Janvrin said. “We also had a great performance from (Mahin), which is good to see him break through and feel comfortable that he has secured his spot in the national championships and now he can relax and perform better.”

Phillips won the pole vault with a jump of 16-8, which was good enough to earn him the MIAA Field Athlete of the Week honors.

“He hurt his back late last season, which hindered his performance at the national outdoor championships,” Janvrin said. “He only started jumping in December, and I’m really happy with how he has been able to be patient in the training process to enable his body to stay healthy which will allow him to jump the highest when it matters.”

It was the second week in a row that a Mule field athlete had won the award. Raynor won it last week after his performance in the weight throw of 70-10.5 at the Mule Relays. With his performance, Raynor also earned himself the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Athlete of the Week.

Both track teams will end their regular season this Friday at home for the UCM Classic.