Emporia, Kan. & Tulsa, Okla. -- The Friends University Falcons competed at both the ESU Spring Open and the ORU Invitational this past weekend and secured three more national qualifications.  

The national qualifications started Friday (Mar. 27) when Abby Green hit the NAIA B Standard in the Hammer Throw with a mark of 52.32m at the ESU Spring Open in Emporia, Kan. Green beat out multiple NCAA D-I and D-II competitors to finish sixth out of 43 competitors in the event with a throw that ranks first in the KCAC and sixth in the NAIA.

Saturday (Mar. 28) saw two national qualifiers in Tiyna Ridge and Fien Molenberg at the ORU Invitational.  Ridge came within .01 seconds of a PR and hit the NAIA A Standard while winning the Women's 100 meters.  Ridge bested multiple NCAA D-I runners with a time that is first in the KCAC and third in the NAIA thus far in the outdoor season. 

Molenberg made her qualifying mark in the Women's 800 meter run, recording a PR time of 2:13.17 to nail the NAIA B Standard. Molenberg also outran multiple NCAA D-I competitors in recording a third-place finish at the event. 

In other action at the ESU Spring Open, Payton Willits delivered a solid performance in the men's long jump, reaching a distance of 7.04 meters (23' 1.25") to secure a seventh-place finish. 

Carter Giittinger competed in the men's 110 hurdles and also finished seventh with a time of 15.25 seconds. 

The Women's Triple jump saw the Falcons go 11 (Avery Mertens: 10.76m), 12 (Riannon St. Clair 10.46m) and 13 Amani Bradsher 10.14m).

At the ORU Invitational, Genesis Johnson finished third in the Women's 400 Meters with a time of 1:02.07, while Eider Alzaga competed in the Women's 100 Hurdles and finished in fifth place with a time of 15.96 seconds. 

In the Men's 100 Meters, Pius Vokes secured second place with a time of 10.75. Jeremiah Frederick and Christian Setzer also earned spots in the top 10, finishing eighth and ninth, respectively. 

Daniel Castello led Friends in the Men's 200 Meters, capturing fourth place with a time of 21.81.  In the Men's 400 Meters, Marcus London was the top finisher for the Falcons, taking sixth place with a time of 49.07.

Ian Russell and Thomas Burk represented Friends in the Men's 800 Meters, finishing seventh and tenth.

In the hurdles events, Christian Setzer took second place in the Men's 110 Hurdles with a time of 15.02, with Braeden Harris and Braxton Munk finished fourth and fifth. 

Spencer Hines also secured second place in the Men's 400 Hurdles, clocking in at 55.96, while Harris followed in fourth for the Falcons. 

The Track & Field Falcons will next host their annual Friends Spring Open next weekend (Apr. 2-4) at Adair-Austin Stadium. 

Friends Track & Field head coach Henry Brun on the Falcons performances this past weekend at the ESU Spring Open & ORU Invitational: 

"We had a great weekend of progress across the board at ESU/ORU. With the conditions not being favorable at ESU, our field event athletes showed some resilience and we put up some quality conference-level performances, highlighted with Abby punching her ticket to NAIAs with a great throw series in the HT. 

ORU  brought some beautiful weather and our runners took full advantage, posting some great mid-season marks, with Tiyna and Fien hitting NAIA qualifying standards in convincing fashion. We raced with confidence against some good D1 talent and it was a nice change from what we have usually done with our competition schedule in the past.

We have five weeks until KCACs and things will start ramping up in training as we look to continue to climb up the conference leaderboard in every event. Our home meet is this upcoming weekend and it always brings out the best in our team. We are excited to host a competitive meet and it is shaping up to be a great one."

Falcon Women Results Summary at ESU Spring Open

- Women's Hammer — 6. Abby Green, 52.32m; 35. Nevaeh Moore, 37.18m
- Women's 100 Meters — 37. Riannon St. Clair, 13.16; 44. Amani Bradsher, 13.42; 45. Tiara Neymour, 13.45
- Women's Pole Vault — 16. Isabella Garito, 3.30m
- Women's Long Jump — 20. Avery Mertens, 5.03m; 26. Tiara Neymour, 4.84m
- Women's Triple Jump — 11. Avery Mertens, 10.76m; 12. Riannon St. Clair, 10.46m; 13. Amani Bradsher, 10.14m
- Women's Shot Put — 23. Nevaeh Moore, 10.72m; 27. Haizea Rubio, 10.46m
- Women's Discus — 24. Haizea Rubio, 34.86m

Falcon Men Results Summary at ESU Spring Open

- Men's 110 Hurdles — 7th: Carter Giittinger, 15.25 (3.8)
- Men's 110 Hurdles — 21st: Markel Denaro, 18.64 (4.7)
- Men's High Jump — 15th: Payton Willits, 1.86m
- Men's Long Jump — 7th: Payton Willits, 7.04m (4.0)
- Men's Shot Put — 15th: Shawn Burdick, 14.56m
- Men's Shot Put — 19th: Leshaon Davis, 14.27m
- Men's Shot Put — 22nd: Julian Winters, 13.85m
- Men's Shot Put — 27th: Matthew Garcia, 13.60m
- Men's Shot Put — 33rd: Ernest Reyes, 39.34m
- Men's Discus — 33rd: Shawn Burdick, 36.10m
- Men's Javelin — 15th: Brock Zerger, 51.40m

Falcon Women Results Summary at ORU Invitational

- Women's 100 Meters — 1st: Tiyna Ridge, 11.56
- Women's 800 Meters — 3rd: Fien Molenberg, 2:13.17; 19th: Janaya Devorce, 2:45.49; 20th: Hailey Roberson, 2:51.92
- Women's 200 Meters — 9th: Liliana Robinson, 25.75; 10th: Lydia Robinson, 25.84; 12th: Genesis Johnson, 27.51
- Women's 400 Meters — 3rd: Genesis Johnson, 1:02.07; 4th: Madeliene Myers, 1:03.63
- Women's 1500 Meters — 21st: Hannah Cribley, 5:07.49; 29th: Rebekah Choriego, 5:21.92; 30th: Gwendolyn Copeland, 5:59.04
- Women's 3000 Meters — 14th: Lexi Patterson, 11:31.49; 16th: Caitlin O'Cuinneagain, 12:05.84
- Women's 100 Hurdles — 5th: Eider Alzaga, 15.96; 7th: Liberty Smith, 17.24

Falcon Men Results Summary at ORU Invitational

- Men's 100 Meters — 2nd: Pius Vokes, 10.75; 8th: Jeremiah Frederick, 11.16
- Men's 200 Meters — 4th: Daniel Castello, 21.81; 15th: Jeremiah Frederick, 23.35; 18th: Braxton Munk, 23.47
- Men's 400 Meters — 6th: Marcus London, 49.07; 13th: Denzel Nyamwela, 51.06; 14th: Chad Payne, 51.25
- Men's 800 Meters — 7th: Ian Russell, 1:58.69; 10th: Thomas Burk, 2:00.58
- Men's 3000 Meters — 13th: Xavi Rafart, 9:10.25; 16th: Sam Wright, 9:19.48; 22nd: Diego Chapellin, 9:49.07
- Men's 110 Hurdles — 2nd: Christian Setzer, 15.02; 4th: Braeden Harris, 16.67; 5th: Braxton Munk, 17.45
- Men's 400 Hurdles — 2nd: Spencer Hines, 55.96; 4th: Braeden Harris, 59.53