PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Robert Plaster Center at Pittsburg State University witnessed an outstanding performance late on Saturday, with the Grizzlies dominating the distance medley relays and claiming the top spot on the women's side, while securing second place on the men's side in the team standings.
After six events on Friday, Adams State leads the women's team race with 29 points, edging out Grand Valley State by six points. The Grizzlies still have their strength entering Saturday, with ten women competing across three events, including seven in the 3,000-meter run and the 4x400 meter dash.
On the men's side, the Grizzlies are sitting in second place with 18 points, two behind Missouri Southern State. The Grizzlies still have six runners in three events.
Romain Legendre secured eight points in the 5,000-meter race, clinching second place with a time of 13:51.76, while Dayton Brown finished 14th with a time of 14:19.06.
In the men's distance medley relay, the quartet of Andrew O'Keefe, Ja'Warren Smith, David Cardenas, and Miguel Coca clinched the title with a season-best time of 9:37.94.
On the women's side, Morgan Hykes, Jada Miller, Maggie McCleskey, and Gracie Hyde pulled ahead during the middle legs to secure victory in 11:17.98.
Adams State earned 19 points in the 5,000-meter run as Brianna Robles finished in second in 16:06.20, freshman Tristian Spence finished in fourth in 16:15.46 while Precious Robinson had a personal best at 16:15.96 in fifth place and Emily Schoellkopf finished in seventh with a personal best of 16:19.58.
Miguel Coca secured his spot in the men's mile final with the fastest time of 4:10.73, while James Dunne also qualified with a time of 4:12.15.
All three Grizzlies competing in the women's mile – senior Gracie Hyde, junior Elena Carey, and freshman Vienna Lahner – qualified for the finals. Hyde clocked the fastest qualifying time of 4:44.51, followed closely by Carey in 4:45.13, with Lahner posting the sixth-fastest time of 4:47.00.
In the men's 400-meter, Jonah Vigil secured the second-fastest time, earning a spot in Saturday's final with a time of 47.02.
David Cardenas qualified for the 800-meter dash final with a time of 1:51.58, the slowest qualifying time of the field. He is set to race in the finals on Saturday at 6:25.
Lieke Hoogsteen secured her place in the women's 800-meter dash with a time of 2:09.53.
Jessica Simon narrowly missed qualifying with her season-best time of 2:09.85 in the 800-meter dash. In the men's mile, Kidus Begashaw finished in 4:19.33.
The Grizzlies are gearing up for a packed schedule on Sunday, with action set to kick off at 4:40 PM MT.
Sunday's Schedule (Times MT):
4:40 PM – Men's Mile: Miguel Coca; James Dunne
4:50 PM – Women's Mile: Gracie Hyde; Elena Carey; Vienna Lahner
5:00 PM – Men's 400 meters: Jonah Vigil
5:25 PM – Men's 800 meters: David Cardenas
5:35 PM – Women's 800 meters: Lieke Hoogsteen
6:05 PM – Men's 3,000 meters: Miguel Coca; Dayton Brown; Yonas Haile
6:25 PM – Women's 3,000 meters: Gracie Hyde; Brianna Robles; Morgan Hykes; Tristian Spence; Precious Robinson; Maggie McCleskey; Emily Schoellkopf
7:00 PM - Women's 4x400 meter relay
