WICHITA, Kan. – The Friends University Indoor Track & Field Falcons were back it in the 2023-24 season with their Friends University First Chance Qualifier at the Heskett Center on the campus of Wichita State University.
Highlights included Tiyna Ridge, competing in her first career race, finishing second in the Women's 60 Meters with a time of 7.83.
In the Women's 400 Meter Run, Kaylah Petty came out on top of 10 other runners with a time of 1:01.72.
The Women's 1000 Meter event consisted solely of Falcons, including Antonina Jackowiak (3:15.54), Rebekah Choriego (3:33.68) and Grace Lee (3:39.64).
Claire Dingler (6:22.23) posted a runner-up finish in the Women's Mile Run, with Gabriela Millan posting a runner-up showing in the Women's 60 Hurdles (9.81) and a third-place result in the High Jump (1.55m).
The Women's Long Jump featured a top-three finish by Amani Bradsher (4.96m) and Aneesa Sheppard (10.67m) was also third in the Triple Jump.
For the men, the 400 Meter event's top three finishers consisted solely of Falcons, led by Malachi Sanders in the top spot (50.57). Sanders was followed by Eddy Rachedi (51.07) and Chad Payne (51.75).
Alexander Lopez (2:02.70) was the runner-up in the Men's 800 Meter run, while Elijah Zortman (2:40.20) finished second and Jose Ruiz (2:40.81) came in third in the 1000 Meter event.
In the Men's 60 Meter Hurdles, Carter Gittinger (9.03) recorded a podium finish of third for the Falcons.
The team of Hayden Basler, Jace Douglas, Ruiz and Zortman competed in the 4 X 400 relay and posted a time of 3:43.81 to finish fourth.
Aaron Platt (1.91m) was second in the Men's High Jump, while Austin Hoyt (4.36m) and Darrian Cox (4.00m) made up the top two in the Pole Vault.
Isaiah Sanders (6.75m) came in second in the Men's Long Jump and the Triple Jump featured a runner-up result from Mikkel Tarver (14.06m) and a third-place showing by Gittinger (13.55m).
Leshaon Davis (13.78m) finished as the runner-up in the Men's Shot Put and Jadun Rozier (14.95m) was also second in the Weight Throw.
The Falcons will next compete in the NAIA/JUCO Challenge on Jan. 20 at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kan.
Click HERE for full results of the Friends University First Chance Qualifier.
Friends University Track & Field head coach Henry Brun on the Falcons' performance at the Friends University First Chance Qualifier
"I was very pleased with the overall performances this week, coming off of the Holiday break. Maintaining all of the quality work we put in through the fall is crucial over the 3-week break, and it was clear that our squad did the training necessary to come back to campus and not miss a beat! It is always nice to see some personal bests fresh out of the break, and we had a number of those! We had some newcomers finally able to suit up in the Falcons uniform and you can tell they competed with pride. The most encouraging part of the meet was the energy the team brought, cheering on their teammates from the first event all the way to the distance 4x400m relay. You can tell this group really cares about one another. With that type of energy, our team could be surprise title contenders at the KCACs in February."
