WICHITA, Kan. – The Friends University Men's Falcons clinched their first KCAC Outdoor Track & Field Championship since 2016 and the Falcon Women posted a solid runner-up finish this past Friday (May 1). Below is a full recap of both thrilling days at Adair-Austin Stadium.
Day One
An exciting opening day of the 2026 KCAC Outdoor Track & Field Championship culminated on Thursday (Apr. 30) from Adair-Austin Stadium.
Julian Winters wasted no time getting things started on the right foot for the Friends University Falcons, winning the KCAC Championship in the Men's Hammer Throw with a PR and NAIA B Standard throw of 56.69m that ranks as the best mark in the league this season.
Abby Green then made it 2-2 in KCAC Hammer Throw titles for the Falcons with an NAIA B Standard throw of 53.94m. Green's mark ranks second in the conference this season, second only to her own throw of 54.54m at the Falcons' home spring invitational earlier this month.
Aneesa Sheppard provided the Falcons with another KCAC day one championship in the Women's Long Jump, hitting a mark of 5.68m to finish atop the field.
The Falcons weren't quite through collecting championships on the first day and added another in the Men's 4 X 800 relay behind the team of Thomas Burk, Denzel Nyamwela, Ian Russell and Spencer Hines for a winning time of 7:48.07.
Additional Day One Highlights
To no one's surprise, Tiyna Ridge outdistanced everyone in the Women's 100 Meter preliminaries with a time of 11.56 to comfortably qualify for Friday's final. The Edmond, Okla. native wasn't done for the night and clinched a spot in the 200 Meter run final with a time of 24.25 to come in second in the preliminary run.
Pius Vokes then ran a PR of 10.56 to finish second in the Men's 100 Meter run and also qualify for the final. Vokes later bettered that performance by a spot by finishing on top of the field in the preliminary 200 meter run with a PR run of 21.44 to advance to Friday's final.
In the Hurdle events, it was Gabriela Millan coming in first in the Women's 100m Hurdles preliminaries at 14.19 to secure a spot in the final event.
Christian Setzer (second, 14.89, PR) and Carter Giittinger (fourth, 15.18) then each ran and qualified for the final on Friday in the Men's 110m Hurdles.
In the Men's Long Jump, the Falcons occupied two of the top three spots behind Payton Willits in second with a PR of 7.31m and Matthew Bryant in third place at 7.13m.
Millan also recorded a podium finish of third with an Outdoor-tying PR of 1.59m in the Women's High Jump.
Day Two
It had been exactly 10 years since the Friends University Falcon Men hoisted the KCAC Outdoor Track & Field Championship banner, but that all changed Friday night (May 1) as head coach Henry Brun's Falcons raised the banner after outpacing the University of Saint Mary Spires 175 points to 154.50. The Falcon Women were also solid both days and posted a runner-up finish with 166 points, behind only Saint Mary's 179 points.
The championship continues sustained momentum for both programs, as the Men's Falcons also claimed the 2025-26 KCAC Indoor Track & Field Championship in February and the Women's Falcons finished second.
The accolades included Brun being named the Men's Coach of the Year and K'Ron Sherald earning Women's Assistant Coach of the Year honors.
The Falcons first championship on the second day of competition was in the Men's 4 X 100 relay, with the team of Carter Giittinger, Eddy Rachedi, Daniel Castello and Pius Vokes hitting a meet record time of 41.10. The time is second only to the school record mark the squad set earlier this season at the ESU Relays (Apr. 16).
Another meet record would fall a short time later, as Tiyna Ridge ran 11.37 in the Women's 100 meters to capture the KCAC Championship and hit an NAIA A Standard. Later, the Edmond, Okla. native put a bow on her night and won a terrific race with a school, meet and KCAC all-time record run of 23.66 in the 200 meter event, just holding off Roy'Janae Brown of Ottawa at 23.80 while hitting another NAIA A Standard. Ridge and Brown now hold the first and second fastest times in meet history.
Fien Molenberg put another championship in the Falcons' column with a victory in the Women's 800 meters, running a winning time of 2:17.00.
The Men's 400 meter run was extremely beneficial to the Falcons, with Castello taking the top prize with a PR run of 48.60, while Marcus London followed close behind with a PR of his own (48.66).
Capping the night and the championship meet was another championship in the Women's 4 X 400 Relay. The team of Lilliana Robinson, Lydia Robinson, Naomi Vagher and Molenberg won with a time of 3:53.66. The Falcons trailed early but made up ground throughout, culminating with a great final leg and pass by Molenberg to win in dramatic fashion. Everything then wrapped up with the Men's 4 X 400 relay, where Castello, London, Ian Russell and Spencer Hines posted a solid runner-up finish at 3:19.54.
Additional Day Two Highlights
- The women's 4 x 100m relay team of Naomi Vagher, Lydia Robinson, Liliana Robinson and Ridge finished third with a time of 46.53, an NAIA B standard and a new school record.
- Giittinger picked up an NAIA A Standard while also finishing as runner-up in the Men's Pole Vault with a vault of 4.90 meters, a personal record. In addition to Giittinger's runner-up finish, Darrion Cox came in third and Jaden Harris (PR-tying) finished fourth, with each recording a mark of 4.35m.
- Julian Winters produced a runner-up finish in the Men's Shot Put, recording a PR of 15.96m.
- The Falcons got a pair of runner-up finishes in the Triple Jump, with Matthew Bryant (14.27m) in the men's event and Aneesa Sheppard (11.70m) on the women's side.
- In the Men's 400m hurdles, it was Denzel Nyamwela finishing second and posting a PR of 54.73
- Gabriela Millan secured a runner-up finish and NAIA B Standard in the women's 100m hurdles with a time of 14.05, a new school record and the second-fastest time in meet history behind only today's winner JayOnna Perry of Ottawa.
- Christian Setzer tied a PR and posted a runner-up finish of 14.98 in the Men's 110m Hurdles.
- Vokes finished on the podium in third with a PR of 10.43 in the Men's 100 meter run, just missing an NAIA B Standard by .01 seconds while setting a new school mark.
- In the Women's Pole Vault, Isabella Garito found her way on the podium with an outdoor PR of 3.53m.
- Cameron Clary (39.85m) finished on the podium in third in the Women's Discus.
- Ian Russell posted a top-three finish in the Men's 800 Meter run with a time of 1:57.16.
Additional awards included Ashlyn Hubbard winning the Women's Champion of Character award and Ernest Reyes earned the Men's Champion of Character honor.
The Falcons will now compete in last chance meets next weekend before fully beginning preparations for the NAIA National Championship meet on May 20-22 Asheville, N.C.
Friends track & field head coach Henry Brun on the Falcons' championship performances at the KCAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships:
"I am so proud of this group for how we performed at the KCAC meet. Being the host team comes with quite a bit of pressure, especially when you're trying to break a decade-long title drought. We really showed up and showed out for our home crowd. We knew it was going to take a full team effort, and every event group stepped up in huge ways to contribute.
In our team meetings leading into the championships, we discussed how the KCAC meet will be the last meet conducted on the current track, as it is getting renovated over the summer. We talked about the history of incredible past performances in our facility and asked them, "What memories do you want to seal on this track before we start a new era?".
I give so much credit to my entire coaching and support staff for helping to inspire our team. The weekend was flooded with countless season/personal/lifetime bests, national qualifying marks, and school records. And our team maintained their reputation for being the rowdiest supporters at the meet. We competed with pride. Congrats to both our men and women for an unbelievable weekend.
The last thing we did before we left the track was embraced our seniors and prayed over them, as they are a week away from embarking on the next step in their life journey. We have appreciated their hard work, dedication, and commitment to growing the culture on our team and in the campus community. They will be greatly missed.
We have two more weeks until the NAIA Meet, and we still have a couple more boxes to check before we head to North Carolina, so a last-chance meet to chase some national standards is ahead of us. We have a great group of qualifiers so far, who I believe will represent us well on the national stage. Stay tuned, there is a lot more fun in store for Friends T&F in the coming weeks!"
Falcon Men Results Summary at KCAC Championship
- Men's 100 Meters Finals — Pius Vokes 3rd 10.43
- Men's 100 Meters Preliminaries — Pius Vokes 2nd 10.56; Matthew Bryant 12th 10.88; Jeremiah Frederick 23rd 11.25; Emilio Gutierrez 29th 11.45; Gabriel Rodriguez 36th 12.01
- Men's 200 Meters Finals — Daniel Castello 6th 21.64; Pius Vokes 8th 24.14
- Men's 200 Meters Preliminaries — Pius Vokes 1st 21.44; Daniel Castello 6th 21.82; Marcus London 10th 22.07; Emilio Gutierrez 31st 23.65
- Men's 400 Meters — Daniel Castello 1st 48.60; Marcus London 2nd 48.66; Eddy Rachedi 6th 49.40; Chad Payne 8th 49.88
- Men's 800 Meters — Ian Russell 3rd 1:57.16; Thomas Burk 9th 2:00.54
- Men's 1500 Meters — Xavi Rafart 9th 4:06.15; Alex Zortman 13th 4:13.33; Diego Chapellin 14th 4:16.27; Joshua Robertson 21st 4:25.41
- Men's 3000 Steeplechase — Sam Wright 7th 9:46.17
- Men's 4 x 100 Relay — Friends (Carter Giittinger, Eddy Rachedi, Daniel Castello, Pius Vokes) 1st 41.10
- Men's 4 x 400 Relay — Friends (Daniel Castello, Marcus London, Ian Russell, Spencer Hines) 2nd 3:19.54
- Men's 4 x 800 Relay — Friends (Thomas Burk, Denzel Nyamwela, Ian Russell, Spencer Hines) 1st 7:48.07
- Men's High Jump — Payton Willits 6th 1.93m (6' 4")
- Men's Pole Vault — Carter Giittinger 2nd 4.90m (16' 0.75"); Darrian Cox 3rd 4.35m (14' 3.25"); Jaden Harris 4th 4.35m (14' 3.25"); Braeden Harris 10th 3.60m (11' 9.75")
- Men's Long Jump — Payton Willits 2nd 7.31m (23' 11.75"); Matthew Bryant 3rd 7.13m (23' 4.75"); Carter Giittinger 9th 6.62m (21' 8.75"); Markel Denaro 11th 6.47m (21' 2.75"); Gabriel Rodriguez 12th 6.37m (20' 10.75")
- Men's Triple Jump — Matthew Bryant 2nd 14.27m (46' 10"); Carter Giittinger 6th 13.44m (44' 1.25"); Markel Denaro 9th 12.86m (42' 2.25")
- Men's Shot Put — Julian Winters 2nd 15.96m (52' 4.5"); Shawn Burdick 4th 15.58m (51' 1.5"); Leshaon Davis 8th 14.49m (47' 6.5"); Matthew Garcia 17th 12.50m (41' 0.25")
- Men's Discus — Julian Winters 6th 45.30m (148' 7"); Shawn Burdick 7th 43.89m (144' 0"); Matthew Garcia 14th 38.66m (126' 10"); Ernest Reyes 20th 33.70m (110' 7")
- Men's Hammer — Julian Winters 1st 56.69m (186' 0"); Shawn Burdick 9th 44.00m (144' 4"); Matthew Garcia 11th 42.86m (140' 7"); Ernest Reyes 14th 39.70m (130' 3")
- Men's Javelin — Brock Zerger 8th 48.47m (159' 0")
Falcon Women Results Summary at KCAC Championship
- Women's 100 Meters Finals — Tiyna Ridge 1st 11.37
- Women's 100 Meters Preliminaries — Tiyna Ridge 1st 11.56
- Women's 200 Meters Finals — Tiyna Ridge 1st 23.66; Lydia Robinson 6th 25.02
- Women's 200 Meters Preliminaries — Tiyna Ridge 2nd 24.25; Lydia Robinson 8th 25.09; Liliana Robinson 9th 25.13; Liberty Smith DNS
- Women's 400 Meters — Lydia Robinson 5th 58.08; Liliana Robinson 6th 58.40; Naomi Vagher 9th 1:00.19; Madeliene Myers 10th 1:01.95
- Women's 800 Meters — Fien Molenberg 1st 2:16.99; Janaya Devorce 18th 2:39.23; Grace Lee 19th 2:39.81
- Women's 1500 Meters — Hannah Cribley 8th 5:06.45; Rebekah Choriego 11th 5:19.25; Gwendolyn Copeland 15th 5:38.47; Hailey Roberson 18th 6:01.57
- Women's 5000 Meters — Lexi Patterson 17th 20:23.69; Caitlin O'Cuinneagain 20th 20:36.84
- Women's 3000 Steeplechase — Lexi Patterson 5th 12:39.47
- Women's 4 x 100 Relay — Friends (Naomi Vagher, Lydia Robinson, Liliana Robinson, Tiyna Ridge) 3rd 46.53
- Women's 4 x 400 Relay — Friends (Liliana Robinson, Lydia Robinson, Naomi Vagher, Fien Molenberg) 1st 3:53.66
- Women's 4 x 800 Relay — Friends (Grace Lee, Rebekah Choriego, Janaya Devorce, Hannah Cribley) 4th 10:31.62
- Women's High Jump — Gabriela Millan 3rd 1.59m (5' 2.5")
- Women's Pole Vault — Isabella Garito 3rd 3.53m (11' 7"); Aaliyah Ramirez 4th 3.38m (11' 1"); Ashlyn Hubbard 6th 3.38m (11' 1"); Sabryn Copeland 8th 3.23m (10' 7"); Brianna Edgley 10th 2.78m (9' 1.5")
- Women's Long Jump — Aneesa Sheppard 1st 5.68m (18' 7.75"); Haidyn Thompson 6th 5.37m (17' 7.5"); Avery Mertens 9th 5.22m (17' 1.5"); Tiara Neymour 11th 5.11m (16' 9.25"); Riannon St. Clair 12th 5.11m (16' 9.25"); Amani Bradsher 14th 4.99m (16' 4.5"); Jada Perez 16th 4.81m (15' 9.5")
- Women's Triple Jump — Aneesa Sheppard 2nd 11.70m (38' 4.75"); Avery Mertens 4th 10.87m (35' 8"); Amani Bradsher 5th 10.68m (35' 0.5"); Riannon St. Clair 6th 10.63m (34' 10.5"); Eider Alzaga 7th 10.52m (34' 6.25"); Jada Perez 8th 10.49m (34' 5"); Tiara Neymour 10th 10.23m (33' 6.75")
- Women's Shot Put — Aiyanna Green 5th 11.70m (38' 4.75"); Nevaeh Moore 8th 11.22m (36' 9.75"); Haizea Rubio 14th 10.77m (35' 4"); Abby Green 17th 10.55m (34' 7.5")
- Women's Discus — Cameron Clary 3rd 39.85m (130' 9"); Haizea Rubio 6th 37.92m (124' 5"); Abby Green 8th 36.11m (118' 6")
- Women's Hammer — Abby Green 1st 53.94m (177' 0"); Aiyanna Green 4th 44.56m (146' 2"); Braelynn Cunningham 7th 39.98m (131' 2"); Nevaeh Moore 10th 38.20m (125' 4")
