Records broken by Iowa Wesleyan track stars

DES MOINES — The Tiger men's and women's track and field teams opened up their outdoor season traveling to Des Moines to compete in the Viking Relays hosted by Grand View University.

The day started with the women's 5,000 meter race walk. Faith Younce broke her own school record from last season in the event with a second place time of 29 minutes, 6.61 seconds. This broke the school record by over 2.5 minutes. Younce currently sits number 6 in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in the event. Allison Morris finished in 3rd place and moved to number 2 all-time in school history in a time of 33:11.87. Morris currently sits number 11 in the NAIA.

In the men's 5,000 meter race walk, Logan Lucas finished in 3rd place in a time of 27:06.56 to break the school record and move to number 5 in the NAIA currently. Kenny Tucker finished close behind in 4th place in a lifetime best of 27:25.93. Tucker currently sits 6th in the NAIA and number 2 all-time in school history. Former Mt. Pleasant prep Gannon McNamee finished in fifth place in a time of 33:43.20 to move to number 3 all-time in school history and sits in sixth place in the NAIA.

In the women's javelin throw, Irakunda Apolina and Emily Gehring both finished in the top 8 and made the finals in the event. Apolina threw a fourth place throw of 89' 8" to move to number 10 all-time in school history. Gehring finished in eighth place with a throw of 73' 7".

Colton Hutson, another former Panther, qualified for finals and placed eighth in the men's javelin with a throw of 123' 3".

Shermaine Preston placed 7th in the women's long jump with a leap of 14' 6".

KeRon Blackwell placed third in the men's high jump clearing 6' 4.75" on the day. That jump moves Blackwell to number 5 all-time in school history.

Bri Hunter finished second in the women's shot put with a throw of 42' 0.5".

In the women's 3,000 meter steeplechase, Faith Younce finished in 3rd place in a lifetime best time of 14:07.81. That time is good for number 6 all-time in school history.

In the men's 3,000 meter steeplechase, Logan Lucas finished in 6th place in a time of 10:34.48.

Grace Willms placed sixth for the Tigers in the women's 100 meter dash. Her time of 13.28 is a new lifetime best and good for number 9 all-time in school history.

Emily Gehring and Teya Hawkins placed third and fourth in the women's 100 meter hurdles in times of 21.64 and 23.92.

Jabez Rivers (SO/Phenix City, AL) placed 2nd in both the men's hurdle events. He started with a new lifetime best in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 15.78 to move to number 6 all-time in school history. He wrapped up his hurdle day with a lifetime best time of 57.84 in the 400 meter hurdles. That mark is good for number 3 all-time in school history.

Lilly Garnsey placed 11th in the women's 1500 meter run in a lifetime best of 5:23.87. That time is good for number 7 all-time in school history.

Daron Jackson won the men's triple jump with a mark of 43' 1" on his first attempt. That jump is good for number 4 all-time in school history. KeJuan Redd placed 4th in the men's triple jump with a jump of 36' 8.5".

Jackson continued his big day with a second-place finish in the long jump and a fourth-place finish in the 400 meter dash. In the long jump, Jackson soared to a jump of 22' 0.75" and moved to number 5 all-time in school history. Jackson's 4th place time in the 400 meter dash was 51.21. That moved Jackson to number 9 all-time in school history. Teammate Judah Rivers placed 10th in the 400 meter dash and moved to number 10 all-time in history with a time of 52.22.

Leonel Cuellar placed fifth and Carrie Staal placed 6th in the men's and women's 800 meter run. Cuellar finished in a time of 2:13.15. Staal finished in a lifetime best time of 3:17.69.

The day concluded with the women's and men's 4x800 meter relays. The women's relay consisting of Lilly Garnsey, Zoi Smith, Faith Younce, and Allison Morris placed 4th in a time of 11:54.24. The men's relay consisting of Jabez Rivers, Leonel Cuellar, Marlon Brown, and Logan Lucas placed 4th in a time of 9:08.55.

The Tiger track and field teams will be back in action on April 1 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for the Mustang Open hosted by Mount Mercy University. The first event starts at 11:30 a.m.