Warriors Compete at Central Nebraska Challenge in Kearney

KEARNEY, Neb. – Midland University made the quick trip out west to the University of Nebraska-Kearney to compete alongside 14 other area schools at the Central Nebraska Challenge. The Warriors had several standout performances on the track in just their second meet of the season.

In the men's invitational shot put, Dylan Kucera and Alex Herman took first and third in the event that featured nine athletes. Both of them reached the NAIA 'A' Standard with Kucera's best coming in at 18.82m and Herman's reaching 15.97m. The pair rank in the top ten among NAIA throwers with Herman at 8th and Kucera leading the nation.

Kucera added an NAIA 'A' Standard mark in the men's invitational hammer. He won the elite event with a toss of 62.00m. Herman won the men's discus with an NAIA 'B' Standard mark of 48.75m.

Other men getting top ten placings were Ross McMahon in the high jump, Shandon Reitzell, and Aubrey Woodard in the long jump, and the quartet of Josiah Meyer, Josh Lewis, McMahon, and Adrien Patigny in the javelin.

McMahon placed third in the high jump with a height of 2.00m and was ninth in the javelin with a distance of 37.88m.

Reitzell placed eighth with a leap of 6.73m while Woodard was tenth with a jump of 6.59m.

Meyer was the top thrower in the javelin for the Warriors with a distance of 44.78m. Lewis placed eighth with a mark of 38.60m and Patigny was tenth with a throw of 36.68m.

On the women's side, Krista Hardy had a sixth-place finish in the high jump with a height of 1.50m. Madyson Ray was seventh in the javelin with a throw of 31.26m.

Seven other women had top 20 marks on the day for the Warriors. Three came in the high jump behind Hardy. They all cleared 1.45m with Shyanne Pipkin and Amber Rodgers tying for 15th via a judge's decision and Madyson Ray taking 18th.

In the shot put, Madalyn Kelsey and Lucy Theil finished 17th and 19th, respectively. Kelsey had a throw of 11.37m while Thiel's toss reached 11.31m.

On the track, Emma Strom placed 17th in the 100m with a time of 12.76.

Midland will travel to the Air Capital of the World next week to compete in the KT Woodman Classic. The two-day meet gets started on Friday, April 7 in Wichita, Kansas.