PITTSBURG, Kan. - The Fort Hays State men's and women's track and field teams delivered an impressive performance at the Rumble in the Jungle Invitational on Friday (Jan. 24), highlighted by one school record, three individual victories and five NCAA Division II national qualifying marks.

Competing for just the second time since cross country season when she reached the NCAA Division II National Championship and won the MIAA Cross Country Championship, Emily Diercks broke the school record in the 3,000m run when she placed first with a national qualifying time of 9:52.99.

Jacob Clark remained undefeated in the pole vault this season, placing first with a national-qualifying mark of 16-8.00. Josiah Ball also surpassed the national qualifying threshold for the first time in his career, placing fifth with a top clearance of 15-8.25. On the women's side, Annabeth Baalmann also recorded a national qualifying performance with a top clearance of 12-4.5, good for fifth place.

Hayden Albright added a third national qualifying performance for the men's squad with a time of 21.47 in the 200m dash, good for third place. Albright also placed sixth in the 400m dash with a time of 48.49. Hayden and brother Avrey Albright narrowly missed the finals in the 60m dash, finishing with a virtual dead heat with matching times of 6.91 which is tied for ninth on the DII era performance list at FHSU.

The men had one other individual champion in Christian Darrah who paced the field in the mile run, clocking an impressive time of 4:11.89 which places him seventh on the DII era performance chart. The men's 4x400m relay team of Avrey Albright, Hayden Albright, Drew Tolar and Mayan Paz wrapped up the event with a fourth-place finish, posting a time of 3:16.81 which is also seventh on the FHSU DII era performance list.

Other top performers on the track included sprinter Reba Mader, who finished 10th in the 400m dash with a time of 57.56, and hurdler Donna Jackson, placed 13th in the 60m hurdles, crossing the line in 9.34.

Meanwhile, in the weight throw, Emma Slade recorded a strong fifth-place finish with a toss of 51-0.00, placing her eighth on the FHSU DII era performance list.

The Tigers will return to action next weekend at the Washburn Open, scheduled for Friday (Jan. 31) through Saturday (Feb. 1) in Topeka, Kan. and the Charlie Foster Classic in Kearney, Neb.
 
Full FHSU Results
Men's
60m Dash Prelims
12th – Hayden Albright – 6.91
13th – Avrey Albright – 6.91
18th – Kenny Fritsch – 6.97
20th – Eddie McVay – 6.97
21st – Ajai Holmes – 6.97
29th – Toby Wahlmeier – 7.06
34th – Nakari Morrical-Palmer – 7.11
 
200m Dash
3rd – Hayden Albright – 21.47 #
12th – Avrey Albright – 22.02
14th – Toby Wahlmeier – 22.03
23rd – Kenny Fritsch – 22.33
33rd –Nakari Morrical-Palmer – 22.70
36th – Eddie McVay – 22.79
 
400m Dash
6th – Hayden Albright – 48.49
 
600y Run
13th – Mayan Paz – 1:15.40
 
800m Run
22nd – Emery Wolfe – 1:58.62
32nd – Daniel Little – 2:02.31
35th – Ian Weich – 2:02.83
 
60m Hurdles Prelims
14th – Nolan Churchman – 8.60
17th – Drew Tolar – 8.96
 
Mile Run
1st – Christian Darrah – 4:11.89
8th – Brady Stegman – 4:20.52
17th – Ian Weich – 4:25.30
22nd – Daniel Bechle – 4:28.76
27th – Kaiden Esfeld – 4:31.33
 
3,000m Run
6th – Jaret Pfizenmaier – 8:36.90
11th – Noah Morenz – 8:44.19
16th – Chayse McCullough – 8:54.62
35th – Kaiden Esfeld – 9:09.52
 
Long Jump
15th – Dean Clark – 21-7.50
16th – Ethan Salmans – 21-4.00
21st – Drew Tolar – 19-9.50
 
Pole Vault
1st – Jacob Clark – 16-8.00  #
5th – Josiah Ball – 15-8.25 #
7th – Brady Deges – 15-2.25
11th – Nolan Churchman – 15-2.25
12th – Kurtis McCormick – 14-8.50
 
Shot Put
25th – Ethan Salmans – 36-2.25
27th – Drew Tolar – 35-1.75
 
4x400m Relay
4th – Avrey Albright, Hayden Albright, Drew Tolar, Mayan Paz – 3:16.81
24th – Emery Wolfe, Daniel Little, Ian Weich, Brady Stegman – 3:34.34
 
Women's
60m Dash Prelims
23rd – Reba Mader – 8.06
33rd – Donna Jackson – 8.25
41st – Chloe Mader – 8.36
 
400m Dash
10th – Reba Mader – 57.56
 
800m Run
15th – Eden Bathurst – 2:24.55
 
60m Hurdles
13th – Donna Jackson – 9.34
19th – Chloe Mader – 9.55
30th – Elysia Kunkler – 10.26
33rd – Kylin Rudzik – 10.44
 
Mile Run
15th – Alayna Cossaart – 5:23.14
33rd – Brenna Murphy – 5:33.70
46th – Madison Sutterfield – 5:44.69
 
3,000m Run
1st – Emily Diercks – 9:52.99 ! #
12th – Ashlyn Harbaugh – 10:30.54
19th – Abbye Hudson – 10:39.73
30th – Arely Maldonado – 11:07.85
 
Long Jump
10th – Jayme Hagerman – 16-8.50
17th – Abby Rueschhoff – 15-8.25
 
Triple Jump
11th – Jayme Hagerman – 35-6.00
13th – Brynlee Frank – 35-0.75
 
Pole Vault
5th – Annabeth Baalmann – 12-4.50 #
13th – Piper Robinson – 10-8.75
 
Shot Put
13th – Liberty Booker – 39-5.50
23rd – Emma Slade – 36-9.00
 
Weight Throw
5th – Emma Slade – 51-0.00
14th – Liberty Booker – 47-10.00
25th – Kieran Burke – 40-11.00

! indicates school record
# indicates NCAA Division II national qualifying mark