TOPEKA, Kan. - The Fort Hays State track and field teams put together a strong showing on day two of the Washburn Open on Saturday (Feb. 1), highlighted by a record-breaking performance and top finishes across multiple events. Emily Diercks set a new school record in the women's mile, while Nolan Churchman and Ethan Salmans dominated the heptathlon to take first and second.

The highlight of the meet for the Tiger women came in the mile run, where Diercks shattered another school record with a time of 5:00.83, finishing 11th overall. The MIAA Cross Country champion set a school record for a second weekend in a row after breaking the 3,000m run record last weekend in Pittsburg, Kan.

The Tigers dominated in the heptathlon, led by Churchman who took first place with 5,324 points. Churchman's performance not only secured him a first-place finish but also propelled him to third in the NCAA Division II qualifying rankings. He was the top finisher in the high jump and pole vault and added a second-place finish in the long jump. Salmans secured a runner-up finish in the multi-event with 4,983 points while Drew Tolar earned a top-10 finish in the heptathlon, placing ninth overall with 4,657 points.

A pair of Tigers posted national qualifying marks in the pole vault, with Annabeth Baalmann finishing second on the women's side with a top clearance of 13-2.25, just 1.5 inches shy of her school record. Josiah Ball cleared the national qualifying threshold for a second weekend in a row, finishing second with a top clearance of 15-11.75.

In the sprints, Avrey Albright and Hayden Albright both competed in the 60-meter dash semifinals, with Avrey placing 19th in 6.97 seconds and Hayden finishing 23rd in 7.02 seconds. Avrey also clocked a 49.01-second time in the 400 meters, ranking him fifth on the FHSU DII era performance list, while Nakari Morrical-Palmer finished 41st in 50.23.

Fort Hays State had an impressive outing in the mile, with Christian Darrah finishing eighth in 4:09.19 to move into second on the FHSU DII era performance chart and Brady Stegman finished 24th in 4:14.66.

In the pentathlon, Kylin Rudzik placed 26th with 2,432 points. Her top event came in the shot put, where she finished seventh with a mark of 34-4.25.

The Tigers now turn their focus to a busy weekend ahead, as they prepare to compete in both the Steve Miller Invitational and Bearcat Invite next weekend (Feb. 7-8).
 
Full FHSU Results
Washburn Open -Saturday
Men's
60m Semis
19th – Avrey Albright – 6.97
23rd – Hayden Albright – 7.02
 
400m
14th – Avrey Albright – 49.01
41st – Nakari Morrical-Palmer – 50.23
 
1 Mile
8th – Christian Darrah – 4:09.19
24th – Brady Stegman – 4:14.66
44th – Kaiden Esfeld – 4:23.60
 
3,000m
46th – Daniel Bechle – 9:02.03
 
Pole Vault
2nd – Josiah Ball – 15-11.75 #
7th – Brady Deges – 15-0.00
 
Heptathlon
1st - Nolan Churchman - 5,324 #
60m – 5th – 7.04 – 868
LJ – 2nd – 22-6.50 – 783
SP – 3rd – 38-10.50 – 597
HJ – 1st – 6-5.50 – 776
60mH – 6th – 8.74 – 804
PV – 1st – 15-4.25 – 813
1,000m – 8th – 2:58.07 – 683
 
2nd - Ethan Salmans - 4,983 #
60m – 4th – 7.03 – 872
LJ – 5th – 22-1.25 – 755
SP – 7th – 37-2.50 – 566
HJ – 7th – 5-11.50 – 644
60mH – 2nd – 8.45 – 872
PV – T7th – 13-4.50 – 640
1,000m – 15th – 3:03.16 – 634
 
9th - Drew Tolar - 4,657
60m – 1st – 6.95 – 900
LJ – 15th – 20-9.00 – 657
SP – 2nd – 39-8.00 – 612
HJ – 19th – 5-7.00 – 544
60mH – 9th – 8.82 – 786
PV – 16th – 11-5.00 – 477
1,000m – 9th – 2:58.33 – 681
 
Women's
400m
23rd – Reba Mader – 57.88
 
800m
21st – Eden Bathurst – 2:21.23
42nd – Makenzie Premer – 2:28.95
 
1 Mile
11th – Emily Diercks – 5:00.83
32nd – Alayna Cossaart – 5:15.05
51st – Abbye Hudson – 5:29.71
 
Pole Vault
2nd – Annabeth Baalmann – 13-2.25 #
11th – Piper Robinson – 10-8.75
 
Pentathlon
26th - Kylin Rudzik - 2,432
60mH – 23rd – 10.08 – 697
HJ – 23rd – 4-7.00 – 512
SP – 7th – 34-4.25 – 560
LJ – 24th – 14-7.25 – 416
800m – 28th – 3:13.87 – 247
 

Washburn Open – Friday
Men's
60m Prelims
22nd – Hayden Albright – 6.87q
25th – Avrey Albright – 6.90q
50th – Nakari Morrical-Palmer – 7.02
64th – Toby Wahlmeier – 7.08
 
200m
7th – Hayden Albright – 21.54 #
23rd – Avrey Albright – 21.87
30th – Toby Wahlmeier – 22.00
55th – Nakari Morrical-Palmer – 22.31
 
5,000m
29th – Chayse McCullough – 15:13.83
34th – Noah Morenz – 15:26.46
 
Pole Vault Open
7th – Mason Younger – 14-1.25
15th – Trevor Christensen – 13-7.25
 
Distance Medley Relay
3rd – Brady Stegman, Mayan Paz, Emery Wolfe, Christian Darrah – 10:07.20
 
1st - Nolan Churchman
60m – 5th – 7.04 – 868
LJ – 2nd – 22-6.50 – 783
SP – 3rd – 38-10.50 – 597
HJ – 1st – 6-5.50 – 776
60mH -
PV -
1,000m -
 
5th - Ethan Salmans
60m – 4th – 7.03 – 872
LJ – 5th – 22-1.25 – 755
SP – 7th – 37-2.50 – 566
HJ – 7th – 5-11.50 – 644
60mH -
PV -
1,000m -
 
10th - Drew Tolar
60m – 1st – 6.95 – 900
LJ – 15th – 20-9.00 – 657
SP – 2nd – 39-8.00 – 612
HJ – 19th – 5-7.00 – 544
60mH -
PV -
1,000m -
 
Women's
600y
17th – Reba Mader – 1:27.81
26th – Eden Bathurst – 1:32.04
28th – Mackenzie Premer – 1:32.23
 
# indicates NCAA Division II provisional mark
Q indicates qualifying time for finals