Fort Hays State Track and Field turned in a weekend with strong showings at the Loper Invitational and Kansas Relays, highlighted by a pair of provisional and top-10 program marks at the DII level.

At the Loper Invitational, the Tigers sprint crew made noise early, led by Eddie McVay, who captured first in the 100m dash with a time of 10.81. Avrey Albright continued his momentum in the 200m, clocking 21.69 to take second, followed closely by Toby Wahlmeier in third at 21.74. Albright also delivered a standout performance in the 400m, finishing second in 47.81—the sixth-fastest time in Fort Hays State DII history. The 400m hurdles featured a dominant Tiger duo. Drew Tolar crossed the line first in 54.08, moving to fifth all-time in program history, while Mayan Paz finished just behind at 54.12 for second , the sixth-fastest in DII school history and a new personal best.

In the field, the men's pole vault saw a Tiger sweep of the top three spots. Brady Deges and Josiah Ball tied for first, both clearing 15-10.00, while Kurtis McCormick claimed third at 14-10.25.

On the women's side, Reba Mader put on a show with a victory in the 400m, clocking a personal-best 56.24, which now ranks third in DII program history. Mader also placed second in the 200m (25.50), continuing her strong outdoor season. Amelia Foster joined Mader on the podium in the 400m with a third-place finish at 58.80.

In the pole vault, Annabeth Baalmann soared to a mark of 13-1.00, good for first place and a provisional qualifying standard. Thrower standout Emma Slade had a breakout weekend. In invitationals, she placed sixth in the discus with a throw of 147-8.00, now ninth in DII Fort Hays State history. In the hammer, she launched a personal-best 173-7.00, moving to fourth all-time in program history and hitting a provisional mark. Liberty Booker also finished seventh in invitational shot put (40-1.25) and eighth in invitation hammer (161-4.00).

At the Kansas Relays, Emily Diercks turned in a gutsy effort in the 1500m invitational, placing sixth in 4:36.45—third all-time in DII Fort Hays State history. On the men's side, Christian Darrah just missed the provisional standard with a strong eighth-place finish in the 1500m (3:48.22), which also stands as third in DII school history. Rounding out the weekend, Noah Morenz claimed fourth in the 3000m steeplechase seeded section at the Kansas Relays, running 9:30.98.

Fort Hays State continues to build momentum heading into their FHSU Alex Francis Classic in Hays, Kan. The meet is set for Thursday (April 24) and will begin with field events at noon and track events at 2:00 p.m.
 
FHSU Full Results
Loper Invitational
100m
1st – Eddie McVay – 10.81
8th – Dylan Velasco – 11.23
 
110mH
8th – Spencer Rich – 16.89
 
200m
2nd – Avrey Albright – 21.69
3rd – Toby Wahlmeier – 21.74
5th – Omari Smith – 22.26
9th – Alex Arnold – 22.86
10th – Dylan Velasco – 22.93
11th – Brody Burns – 23.06
18th – Cole Darling – 24.25
 
400m
2nd – Avrey Albright – 47.81
6th – Brody Burns – 49.80
7th – Alex Arnold – 50.00
13th – Asher Wassom – 51.34
20th – Cole Darling – 54.98
 
400mH
1st – Drew Tolar – 54.08
2nd – Mayan Paz – 54.12
 
Pole Vault
1st – Brady Deges – 15-10.00
2nd – Josiah Ball – 15-10.00
3rd – Kurtis McCormick – 14-10.25
6th – Rylan White – 14-4.50
7th – Trevor Christensen – 13-4.50
 
Triple Jump
6th – Ervin Fierro – 41-9.25
 
Women
100mH
5th – Elysia Kunkler – 16.78
6th – Kylin Rudzik – 18.41
 
200m
2nd – Reba Mader – 25.50
 
400m
1st – Reba Mader – 56.24
3rd – Amelia Foster – 58.80
 
Pole Vault
1st – Annabeth Baalmann – 13-1.00 #
5th – Piper Robinson – 11-1.50
6th – Kaitlin Lindstrom – 10-7.50
12th – Liz Moore – 9-7.75
 
Hammer
4th – Kieran Burke – 153-11.00
 
Discus
9th – Kieran Burke – 130-8.00
13th – Jessica Saunders – 121-7.00
 
Javelin
6th – Patrisha Doll – 119-10.00
11th – Kylin Rudzik – 80-4.00
 
Shot Put
6th – Emma Slade – 38-1.25
9th – Kylin Rudzik – 34-5.75
 
Invitational Shot Put
7th – Liberty Booker – 40-1.25
 
Invitational Discus
6th – Emma Slade – 147-8.00 
 
Invitational Hammer
6th – Emma Slade – 173-7.00 #
8th – Liberty Booker – 161-4.00
 
Kansas Relays
Womens
1500m Invitational
6th – Emily Diercks – 4:36.45
 
Mens
1500m Invitational
8th – Christian Darrah – 3:48.22
 
3000m Steeplechase Seeded
4th – Noah Morenz – 9:30.98
 
# indicates national provisional mark