WICHITA, Kan. -- The Friends University Falcons hosted their annual Spring Invite on Thursday and Friday (Apr. 2-3) and came away with more national standards and standout performances at Adair-Austin Stadium. 

On Thursday in the Women's 200 Meters, Tiyna Ridge ran a time of 23.75 seconds to hit the NAIA A standard in her first career 200 Meter race, despite challenging wind conditions. Ridge's time is tops in the KCAC and third in the NAIA this outdoor season and also ranks third in the history of the meet, trailing only the top two finishers (RaNayla Moten, Allen CC, 23.09) and Corrissia Brittany Perry (Unattached, 23.73) in this race.

Ridge wasn't done setting standards, as she teamed with Aneesa Sheppard, Naomi Vagher and Liliana Robinson to achieve the NAIA B Standard in the Women's 4 X 100 relay with a mark (47.24) that's third in the KCAC and 16th so far in the NAIA.  

Also on Thursday, Abby Green recorded a PR and surpassed the NAIA A standard in the Women's Hammer Throw with a mark of 54.54 meters, the sixth best throw in the NAIA this year. 

The national marks continued on Friday, with Carter Giittinger shining the Men's Decathlon. Giittinger won the event with 6,754 points, a PR and meet record while ranking as the highest point total in the NAIA thus far in the outdoor campaign. The Russellville, Ark. native dominated the event with wins in the 100 Meters, Long Jump, Shot Put, 400 Meters, 110 Hurdles, Discus and the Pole Vault. Giittinger also recorded a PR in four of the 10 events in the Decathlon. 

In the Women's Pole Vault, Aaliyah Ramirez also hit an NAIA B Standard and a PR with a mark of 3.78m.  Ramirez's jump is also a KCAC record and is the fifth best mark in the NAIA this year. 

Additional Highlights - 

- Sheppard took first place in the Triple Jump with a mark of 11.25m and Jada Perez finished fourth (10.89m).

- The Falcon Men's 4 x 400 Relay team achieved a first place finish with a time of 3:24.00 (Chad Payne, Ian Russell, Thomas Burk, Landon Reaves)

- The Falcon Women's 4 X 400 relay team also finished on top with a time of 3:54.63 (Liliana Robinson, Lydia Robinson, Naomi Vagher, Fien Molenberg)

- Denzel Nyamwela achieved a second place finish in the Men's 400 Hurdles with a time of 55.10 that is now tops in the KCAC this season.

- Brock Zerger of Friends University secured third place in the Men's Javelin with a throw of 54.90 meters

- Lexi Patterson placed second in the Women's 3000 Steeplechase with a time of 12:36.38

- Lydia Robinson achieved fourth place in the Women's 400 Meters, clocking 57.72

- Gabriela Millan tied for fourth in the Women's High Jump with a height of 1.59m.

- Haidyn Thompson finished fourth in the Women's Long Jump with a mark of 5.19m

- Julian Winters placed fourth in the Men's Hammer with a throw of 53.80m and fifth in the Men's Discus with 44.87m. Shawn Burdick also excelled, placing fourth in the Men's Shot Put with a throw of 15.40m and Winters was fifth (15.31m).

- Sam Wright finished fifth in the Men's 3000 Steeplechase with a mark of 10:15.22. 

The Track & Field Falcons will next compete at the Tabor College Invitational on Saturday (Apr. 11) in Hillsboro, Kan. 

Friends track & field head coach Henry Brun on the Falcons' performances at the annual Friends Spring Invite: 

"Our home meet didn't disappoint! We had some amazing weather and, with 31 teams competing this year, we had some fantastic competition. It really brought out the best in our squad as a mid-season benchmark. The results are flooded with season bests, personal bests, quality KCAC marks, school records, and NAIA national qualifying marks. We checked a lot of boxes this weekend!

I am really proud of my staff for stepping up in all the planning that went into putting on another quality meet this year. I am extremely grateful for the Athletic Department and the other sports teams that helped us in nearly every event. It was truly a university effort, and you could see the sense of pride in every student-athlete in our program as they competed along with their peers from other teams that helped.

Big thanks to Wavelight for bringing their technology to our Distance Carnival and introducing a new element to our meet that we plan to continue in the future. The lights will be back!"

Falcon Women Results Summary at Friends Spring Invite

- Women's 200 Meters — 3rd: Tiyna Ridge, 23.75
- Women's 400 Meters — 4th: Lydia Robinson, 57.72
- Women's 800 Meters — 12th: Grace Lee, 2:38.18; 20th: Janaya Devorce, 2:45.77; 23rd: Hailey Roberson, 2:48.63
- Women's 1500 Meters — 19th: Hannah Cribley, 5:11.62; 23rd: Rebekah Choriego, 5:21.04; 39th: Caitlin O'Cuinneagain, 5:41.58; 41st: Gwendolyn Copeland, 5:46.21
- Women's 3000 Steeplechase — 2nd: Lexi Patterson, 12:36.38
- Women's 4 x 100 Relay — 2nd: Friends A, 47.24; 5th: Friends B, 51.54; 7th: Friends C, 55.13
- Women's 4 x 400 Relay — 1st: Friends, 3:54.63
- Women's High Jump — 4th: Gabriela Millan, 1.59m (5' 2.5")
- Women's Long Jump — 4th: Haidyn Thompson, 5.19m (17' 0.5"); 6th: Avery Mertens, 5.16m (16' 11.25"); 8th: Amani Bradsher, 5.12m (16' 9.75"); 9th: Riannon St. Clair, 5.05m (16' 7")
- Women's Triple Jump — 1st: Aneesa Sheppard, 11.25m (36' 11"); 4th: Jada Perez, 10.89m (35' 8.75"); 7th: Tiara Neymour, 10.35m (33' 11.5")
- Women's Shot Put — 13th: Nevaeh Moore, 10.84m (35' 6.75"); 16th: Abby Green, 10.68m (35' 0.5"); 21st: Haizea Rubio, 10.31m (33' 10")
- Women's Discus — 9th: Haizea Rubio, 36.75m (120' 7")
- Women's Hammer — 1st: Abby Green, 54.54m (178' 11"); 11th: Braelynn Cunningham, 40.42m (132' 7"); 16th: Nevaeh Moore, 38.81m (127' 4")
- Women's Javelin — 12th: Fien Molenberg, 24.99m (82' 0")

Falcon Men Results Summary at Friends Spring Invite

- Men's 100 Meters — Preliminaries: Pius Vokes, 9th, 10.72; Payton Willits, 45th, 11.58; Emilio Gutierrez, 49th, 11.63
- Men's 200 Meters — Marcus London, 24th, 22.14; Emilio Gutierrez, 48th, 23.30; Braeden Harris, 46th, 23.26
- Men's 400 Meters — Daniel Castello, 10th, 49.60; Chad Payne, 21st, 50.67; Landon Reaves, 44th, 53.83
- Men's 800 Meters — Spencer Hines, 9th, 1:57.46; Ian Russell, 10th, 1:57.72; Thomas Burk, 18th, 2:01.06
- Men's 1500 Meters — Xavi Rafart, 14th, 4:14.01; Alex Zortman, 20th, 4:20.10; Diego Chapellin, 26th, 4:23.02
- Men's 110 Hurdles — Preliminaries: Christian Setzer, 9th, 15.76
- Men's 400 Hurdles — Denzel Nyamwela, 2nd, 55.10; Braxton Munk, 6th, 58.08
- Men's 3000 Steeplechase — Sam Wright, 5th, 10:15.22; Preston Landman, 9th, 11:51.45
- Men's 4 x 100 Relay — Friends, 9th, 43.88
- Men's 4 x 400 Relay — Friends, 1st, 3:24.00; Friends B, 7th, 3:41.89
- Men's Pole Vault — Darrian Cox, 8th, 4.50m (14' 9"); Jesus Bey, 10th, 4.20m (13' 9.25")
- Men's Long Jump — Payton Willits, 7th, 6.40m (21' 0")
- Men's Shot Put — Shawn Burdick, 4th, 15.40m (50' 6.25"); Julian Winters, 5th, 15.31m (50' 2.75"); Matthew Garcia, 16th, 13.10m (42' 11.75")
- Men's Discus — Julian Winters, 5th, 44.87m (147' 2"); Matthew Garcia, 11th, 39.87m (130' 10"); Ernest Reyes, 13th, 39.27m (128' 10")
- Men's Hammer — Julian Winters, 4th, 53.80m (176' 6"); Shawn Burdick, 15th, 41.16m (135' 0"); Ernest Reyes, 19th, 40.41m (132' 7")
- Men's Javelin — Brock Zerger, 3rd, 54.90m (180' 1"); Gage Lee, 6th, 49.84m (163' 6")
- Men's Decathlon — Carter Giittinger, 1st, 6754 points