PITTSBURG, Kan. - The Fort Hays State men's and women's track and field teams combined to break one school record and post five national qualifying marks Saturday (Feb. 14) on day two of the 11th Annual Russ Jewett Indoor Gorilla Classic.
 
Emily Diercks McCullough beat all 54 other competitors in the 3,000m run, breaking her own school record with a national-qualifying time of 9:48.10. That time ranks 32nd in Division II this season. Emma Weiner ran a personal-best 10:18.47 in the same race to place 14th, ranking 10th on the FHSU DII era performance list.
 
A pair of student-athletes from the women's squad placed second in the vertical jumps, including Katie Linenberger in the high jump with a top clearance of 5-8.5 and Annabeth Baalmann in the pole vault with a top performance of 13-6.5. Both marks surpass the national qualifying threshold and would rank inside the top dozen in Division II, however the freshman and senior each rank inside the top four in the country with performances from earlier in the season.
 
Two men's pole vaulters also cleared the national qualifying benchmark. Josiah Ball cleared a personal-best 16-10 to finish second, moving to fifth on the FHSU DII era list, 12th in Division II this season and third in the MIAA this year. Hunter Angove finished in fourth place after matching his season-best performance of 16-6 which ranks 24th in DII.
 
Reba Mader finished 10th in the 400m dash, crossing the line in 56.61, just 11-hundredths of a second shy of the national qualifying mark. Amelia Foster ran the 400m in a personal-best 58.56, placing 29th and ranking eighth on the FHSU DII era performance chart.
 
Taylor Hoskinson placed 10th out of 59 runners in the mile run, improving her personal-best time to 5:04.42 which ranks sixth at FHSU during the DII era.
 
Avrey Albright placed 17th out of 51 runners in the 400m dash, crossing the line in 48.77. Nakari Morrical-Palmer was close behind in 18th with a personal-best time of 48.89, moving him up to fifth on the DII era list.
 
The men's 4x400m relay team of Albright, Jayden Michaelis, Drew Tolar and Morrical-Palmer finished in ninth place with a combined time of 3:16.25, good for sixth on the FHSU DII era performance list and less than one second off the national qualifying pace.
 
Dean Clark reached the finals in the triple jump, placing ninth with a top leap of 46-4.
 
The Tigers will wrap up the regular season at a pair of meets next Friday (Feb. 20), with some traveling to Kearney, Neb. for the Loper Tune-Up and others headed to Manhattan, Kan. for the Steve Miller Invitational.
 
Saturday Results
Women
400m Dash Open
10th - Reba Mader - 56.61
29th - Amelia Foster - 58.56
 
800m Run
27th - Taylor Hoskinson - 2:20.26
38th - Janae Fugitt - 2:22.40
48th - Makenzie Premer - 2:24.56
 
Mile Run
10th - Taylor Hoskinson - 5:04.42
15th - Abbye Hudson - 5:10.09
29th - Esther Clark-Pavlovich - 5:21.00
 
3,000m Run
1st - Emily Diercks McCullough - 9:48.10 ! #
14th - Emma Weiner - 10:18.47
 
High Jump Invite
2nd - Katie Linenberger - 5-8.5 #
 
Pole Vault Invite
2nd - Annabeth Baalmann - 13-6.5 #
 
Shot Put
13th - Liberty Booker - 41-7.75
18th - Natalee North - 40-4.75
 
Men
400m Dash Open
17th - Avrey Albright - 48.77
18th - Nakari Morrical-Palmer - 48.89
21st - Drew Tolar - 49.12
37th - Jayden Michaelis - 50.19
 
800m Run
40th - Emery Wolfe - 1:57.07
65th - Luke Wessel - 2:00.03
 
Mile Run
35th - Taran Castro - 4:25.39
56th - Ian Weich - 4:37.26
 
3,000m Run
15th - Hayden Nemechek - 8:42.30
18th - Austin Ritsema - 8:44.49
 
4x400m Relay
9th - Avrey Albright, Jayden Michaelis, Drew Tolar, Nakari Morrical-Palmer- 3:16.25
 
Pole Vault Invite
2nd - Josiah Ball - 16-10 #
4th - Hunter Angove - 16-6 #
6th - Mason Younger - 15-8.25
9th - Brady Deges - 15-8.25
 
Triple Jump
9th - Dean Clark - 46-4
 
Friday Results
Women
60m Dash Prelims
37th - Hailey Brown - 7.88
 
600y Run
1st - Reba Mader - 1:24.18
2nd - Amelia Foster - 1:25.02
7th - Makenzie Premer - 1:30.82
 
5,000m Run
12th - Ashlyn Harbaugh - 18:16.22
21st - Margaret Browning - 18:37.93
32nd - Keziah Bachman - 19:19.44
 
60m Hurdles Prelims
30th - Donna Jackson - 9.32
 
Pole Vault Open
2nd - Lillian Finke - 11-7.0
 
Long Jump
19th - Jayme Hagerman - 17-8
 
Weight Throw
9th - Emma Slade - 52-0.75
15th - Liberty Booker - 50-0
17th - Natalee North - 49-10
 
Men
60m Dash Prelims
48th - Avrey Albright - 7.09
55th - Drew Tolar - 7.13
61st - Bradley Nkosi - 7.17
63rd - Brock Deterding - 7.18
 
200m Dash
16th - Nakari Morrical-Palmer - 21.94
31st - Avrey Albright - 22.18
57th - Brock Deterding - 22.79
 
600y Run
11th - Mayan Paz - 1:14.44
12th - Luke Wessel - 1:14.49
16th - Emery Wolfe - 1:15.31
 
5,000m Run
11th - Chayse McCullough - 15:09.90
18th - Cole Krug - 15:18.11
 
60m Hurdles Prelims
13th - Bradley Nkosi - 8.30
16th - Jayden Michaelis - 8.42
21st - Brett Eckhardt - 8.59
 
Pole Vault Open
1st - Will Wegerer - 15-5
3rd - Rylan White - 14-7.25
 
Long Jump
11th - Drew Tolar - 22-5.75
29th - Durham Nittler - 20-8.5

! indicates school record
# indicates national qualifying performance