WICHITA, Kan. — The Friends University Falcons captured the KCAC Men's Indoor Track & Field championship on Saturday (Feb. 14), while the Women's Falcons secured a runner-up finish for their best conference showing since 2023 at the Heskett Center on the campus of Wichita State University.
The Falcon Men outdistanced second place Kansas Wesleyan University 168-151, while the Falcon Women scored 130.5 points, trailing only Saint Mary's 170.5 points.
Falcon Men's Highlights
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On day one,
Matthew Bryant secured a strong second-place finish in the men's long jump with a leap of 7.15 meters to hit the NAIA B Standard. Bryant then performed well on Saturday in the men's triple jump, achieving another NAIA B standard with a mark of 14.48 meters to also earn second place in that event. Right behind Bryant was
Erick Leggin, who finished third and also earned an NAIA B Standard (14.45m).
Day two saw a barrage of Falcon championships, starting with
Julian Winters claiming victory in the men's weight throw with a mark of 18.64 meters. Winters' throw is currently seventh in the NAIA.
Spencer Hines excelled in the men's 600 meters, capturing the title with a time of 1:20.98.
Logan Barnhill followed with a notable performance, winning the championship in the men's 400 meters with a time of 49.97 seconds.
The Falcons then put an exclamation point on the victory by winning the 4 X 800 relay title behind the team of
Marcus London, Hines,
Eddy Rachedi and Barnhill.
Falcon Men's Results Summary
- Men's 60 Meters Finals — 8th,
Pius Vokes, 7.03
- Men's 60 Meters Preliminaries —
Pius Vokes, 7.04;
Matthew Bryant, 7.05;
Jeremiah Frederick, 7.08
- Men's 200 Meters Finals — 3rd,
Daniel Castello, 22.29; 5th,
Logan Barnhill, 22.36
- Men's 200 Meters Preliminaries —
Logan Barnhill, 22.40;
Daniel Castello, 22.59;
Marcus London, 22.72
- Men's 400 Meters — 1st,
Logan Barnhill, 49.97; 4th,
Eddy Rachedi, 50.43; 5th,
Daniel Castello, 50.56
- Men's 600 Meters — 1st,
Spencer Hines, 1:20.98; 2nd,
Ian Russell, 1:21.23; 5th,
Denzel Nyamwela, 1:22.97
- Men's 1000 Meters —
Xavi Rafart, 2:37.51;
Sam Wright, 2:38.05
- Men's Mile —
Alex Zortman, 4:39.73;
Diego Chapellin, 4:42.20
- Men's 60 Hurdles Finals — 2nd,
Christian Setzer, 8.40; 8th,
Carter Giittinger, 8.83
- Men's 4 x 400 Relay — 1st, Friends (London, Barnhill, Rachedi, Hines), 3:21.52
- Men's 4 x 800 Relay — 3rd, Friends (Burk, Nyamwela, Russell, Hines), 7:53.89
- Men's Distance Medley Relay — 3rd, Friends (Zortman, Russell, Rafart, Wright), 10:49.75
- Men's Pole Vault — 2nd,
Carter Giittinger, 4.45m; 3rd,
Darrian Cox, 4.30m; 4th,
Jaden Harris, 4.15m
- Men's Long Jump — 2nd,
Matthew Bryant, 7.15m; 4th,
Erick Leggin, 6.95m; 5th,
Payton Willits, 6.94m
- Men's Triple Jump — 2nd,
Matthew Bryant, 14.48m; 3rd,
Erick Leggin, 14.45m; 6th,
Carter Giittinger, 13.50m
- Men's Shot Put — 5th,
Shawn Burdick, 14.82m; 7th,
Julian Winters, 14.25m; 8th,
Leshaon Davis, 14.19m
- Men's Weight Throw — 1st,
Julian Winters, 18.64m; 4th,
Matthew Garcia, 15.72m
Falcon Women's Highlights
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Tiyna Ridge's already historic season hit a new high as the Edmond, Okla. native won the KCAC title in the women's 60 meter run with a KCAC meet record time of 7.39. The time is her seventh NAIA A standard of the season and improves upon her conference and school record mark. The 7.39 time is also second in the entire NAIA this season and Ridge now stands as the 16th fastest female 60m sprinter in NAIA history.
The first day saw
Aaliyah Ramirez capturing the women's pole vault title and break her own KCAC record with an NAIA A standard height of 3.65 meters (11' 11.75").
Fien Molenberg excelled and finished as a double champion in the middle-distance events, winning the women's 600 meters with a KCAC meet record time of 1:34.51 that met the NAIA B Standard. She then finished off her performance in the 800 meters with a title-winning time of 2:18.45. Molenberg's victories added 20 points to the team's total, showcasing her versatility.
In the women's weight throw,
Abby Green won the championship with a PR and NAIA B Standard throw of 16.83 meters (55' 2.75") in her final attempt.
Aneesa Sheppard emerged victorious and won the KCAC championship in the women's triple jump and hit the NAIA B Standard with a mark of 11.67 meters (38' 3.5").
Falcon Women's Results Summary
- Women's 60 Meters Finals — 1st,
Tiyna Ridge, 7.39, 10 points
- Women's 60 Meters Preliminaries — 1st,
Tiyna Ridge, 7.49
- Women's 400 Meters — 4th,
Liliana Robinson, 58.99, 5 points; 8th,
Naomi Vagher, 1:01.10, 1 point
- Women's 600 Meters — 1st,
Fien Molenberg, 1:34.51, 10 points
- Women's 800 Meters — 1st,
Fien Molenberg, 2:18.45, 10 points
- Women's 1000 Meters — 9th,
Hannah Cribley, 3:12.88
- Women's 4 x 400 Relay — 3rd, 4:00.22, 6 points
- Women's 4 x 800 Relay — 4th, 10:09.97, 5 points
- Women's Distance Medley Relay — 5th, 13:47.05, 4 points
- Women's Pole Vault — 1st,
Aaliyah Ramirez, 3.65m, 10 points; 2nd,
Isabella Garito, 3.40m, 8 points; 3rd,
Ashlyn Hubbard, 3.40m, 5.5 points
- Women's Triple Jump — 1st,
Aneesa Sheppard, 11.67m, 10 points
- Women's Weight Throw — 1st,
Abby Green, 16.83m, 10 points; 2nd,
Aiyanna Green, 15.77m, 8 points
The Falcons that qualified for nationals will now begin preparing for the NAIA Indoor Championships on Mar. 5-7 at the Alachua County Sports Center in Gainesville, Fla.
