2024 KCAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships

Leavenworth, KS – May 2-3, 2024

By Carol R Swenson (Meet Announcer)
 

The University of Saint Mary Spires packed up two more championship banners at the end of the 2024 KCAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, tucking away both the women’s and men’s team titles for the fourth straight year.  The titles were the fourth for the Spires’ women and the fifth straight for the men as they held off challenges by Ottawa and Friends, respectively.

Thursday morning found the opening session of field events contested under cloudy skies with intermittent light rain before great conditions led to solid performances, both in the field and on the track, Thursday evening and all day Friday. 

The meet saw the women post three new meet records and tie a fourth while the men altered the record book three times.  The first meet record on the women’s schedule of events came in the Pole Vault as Abby Beets (Evangel) tied the all-time meet best with a clearance of 3.40m/11’11.75”.  Riley Hiebert (Saint Mary) picked up the first of her three 2024 KCAC Outdoor titles in Thursday evening’s opening event, the 10,000m Run with a time of 10:42.58.  Following Riley across the finish line was her sister, Reagan, also under the old meet record.  In the second final of Thursday evening session, the Saint Mary women picked up the Spires’ second record of the day in the 4x800m Relay, combining for a time of 9:14.98 to finish ahead of Tabor, who also met the NAIA "A" standard time.  Aubrey Bahner (Tabor) closed out the ladies’ Thursday competition with the day’s final meet record, as she won the 10,000m Run over a pair of Spires, Hannah Showalter and Kate Madsen, who also dipped below the former meet record time.  

Riley Hiebert would finish the meet as the championship’s only three-event individual winner as she also added titles in the 1,500m and 5,000m Runs on Friday. Gretchen Raney (Saint Mary), Jordyn Weems (Ottawa), and JayOnna Perry (Ottawa) were also multiple event individual champions (Raney taking the 100m/200m sprint double, Weems winning the 400m Dash and Long Jump, while Perry swept the 100m and 400m Hurdles).  The Spires of Saint Mary swept all three of the women’s relays.

All three meet records by men were set on Friday as Vance Shewey (Tabor) broke one of the oldest records in the KCAC books as he cleared 2.14m/7’0.25” in the High Jump, his third straight KCAC Outdoor title and bettering the previous record of 2.13m set by Chad Hamlin (Southwestern) in 1996.  Three other competitors, Joshua Blakely (Evangel), Jacob Gillies (Evangel) and Daniel Blount (Ottawa), also cleared NAIA national qualifying heights (3 NAIA “A” standards; 1 “B” standard), making the men’s High Jump the deepest event of the 2024 KCAC Championships.  The second men’s meet record came in the opening event of Friday’s track session when Ottawa’s 4x100m Relay carried the baton one lap around the track in 41.13 seconds.  The men’s final new meet record came in the 800m Run when Dillon Callaway (Tabor) won for the second consecutive year, but with a meet record time of 1:51.88 this time.

Mikkel Tarver (Friends) and Chinedu Nwadike (Saint Mary) each picked up two individual titles.  Tarver won the Long Jump, and Nwadike won the Hammer Throw on Thursday, then returned to win the Triple Jump and Discus Throw, respectively, on Friday.  Domonic Atkinstall (Ottawa) was the men’s third double winner as he swept the men’s 100m and 200m Dashes, both with legal wind readings.

Complete meet results can be seen at www.heartlandtiming.com/results/2024/2024%20KCAC%20Outdoor%20Results.pdf

Final Team Scores:

Women

1. Saint Mary 220
2. Ottawa 140
3. Evangel 109
4. Friends 100
5. Tabor 75
6. York 63
7. Kansas Wesleyan 36
8. McPherson 27
9. Bethel 20
10. Southwestern 13
11. Oklahoma Wesleyan 5
T12. Bethany 4
T12. Sterling  4

Men

1. Saint Mary 179
2. Friends 142
3. Ottawa 132
4. Kansas Wesleyan 113
5. Evangel 91.5
6. Tabor 63
7. Bethany 49
8. York  25
9. Bethel 10
10. Sterling  8
11. Southwestern  5
12. McPherson  0.5

Awards

KCAC Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Meet: JayOnna Perry (Ottawa) [2nd straight]

KCAC Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Athletes of the Meet: Inioluwa Ojo (Bethany) and Domonic Atkinstall (Ottawa)

KCAC Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Coach of the Year: Alstin Benton (Saint Mary)

KCAC Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Coach of the Year: Alstin Benton (Saint Mary)
 

MEET RECORDS SET
 

Women (4)

• 10,000m – Aubrey Bahner (Tabor) 37:06.26
  • Old Record: 38:18.31, Alyssa Armendariz, Saint Mary, 2022
• 3,000m Steeplechase – Riley Riebert (Saint Mary) 10:42.58
  • Old Record: 10:48.60, Alyssa Armendariz, Saint Mary, 2022
• 4x800m Relay – Saint Mary (Carly Holadia, Abigail White, Carlie Gregg, Maddy Walter-Sherretts)  9:14.98
  • Old Record: 9:17.00, Friends, 2022
• Pole Vault (tied) – Abby Beets (Evangel) 3.40/11’1.75”
  • Old Record: 3.40m/11’1.75” Gabrielle Moore, Saint Mary, 2022

Men (2)

• 4x100m Relay –Ottawa (Daniel Campbell, Domonic Atkinstall, Xavier Garza, Jaylan Washington)  41.13
  • Old Record: 41.21, Saint Mary, 2022
• High Jump – Vance Shewey (Tabor)  2.14m/7’0.25”
  • Old Record: 2.13m/7’0”, Chad Hamlin, Southwestern, 1996

Women:

3 – Riley Hiebert (Saint Mary) 1,500m, 5,000m, 3k Steeplechase (MR)

2 – Gretchen Raney (Saint Mary) 100m [2nd straight], 200m

2 – Jayonna Perry (Ottawa) 100m Hurdles, 400m Hurdles [2nd straight]

2 – Jordyn Weems (Ottawa) 400m, Long Jump

Carlie Gregg (Saint Mary) 800m

Aubrey Bahner (Tabor) 10,000m (MR)

Jordyn Lowrie (Tabor) High Jump [2nd straight]

Abby Beets (Evangel)  Pole Vault (MR)

April Phillips (Evangel) Triple Jump

Karley Faudere (Ottawa) Shot Put

Deja Delaine (Ottawa) Discus Throw [2nd straight]

Abby Green (Friends) Hammer Throw [2nd straight]

Allison Thomas (Evangel) Javelin Throw

3 – Saint Mary Relays — 4x100m Relay [2nd straight], 4x400m Relay, 4x800m Relay (MR) [2nd straight]

Men

2 – Domonic Atkinstall (Ottawa) 100m, 200m

2 – Mikkel Tarver (Friends) Long Jump, Triple Jump

2 – Chinedu Nwadike (Saint Mary) Discus Throw, Hammer Throw

Inioluwa Ojo (Bethany) 400m

Dillon Callaway (Tabor) 800m (MR) [2nd straight]

Carter Huyser (Kansas Wesleyan) 1,500m

Dominick Beine (Saint Mary) 5,000m

Ryan Heline (Saint Mary) 10,000m

Kayron Johnson (Ottawa) 110m Hurdles [2nd straight]

Xavier Garza (Ottawa) 400m Hurdles

Daniel Pantoja (Saint Mary)  3k Steeplechase

Vance Shewey (Tabor) High Jump (MR) [3rd straight]

Austin Hoyt (Friends) Pole Vault

Alphonse Jackson (York) Shot Put

Koby Graham (Evangel) Javelin Throw

Ottawa  4x100 Relay (MR) [2nd straight]

Friends  4x400m Relay

Kansas Wesleyan  4x800m Relay