The below freezing temperatures of Ames, Iowa, didn’t stop the WCU track & field teams from creating fire on the track last weekend at the Iowa State Classic. School records and personal bests fell as quickly as the snow.
The Cats competed against representatives from Division 1-A powerhouses such as Kansas State, Kentucky, Stanford, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Texas A&M in this individual non-team scored event.
The WCU men’s 4×400-meter relay team comprised of sophomores Derrick High and Tim Vaught, senior Akaba Glaspie, and freshman Bola Oyegunwa added another stepping stone to their journey to the NCAAs. They lowered their own school record for the fourth time this season. The foursome ran a time of 3:11.28, just .88 seconds shy of the NCAA provisional qualifying standard.
Sophomore Caleb Bailey set a new school record in the 800-meter with a time of 1:53.48. Bailey also clocked a 4:17.66 in the mile and ran a blazing 3:03 in the 1,200-meter leg on the distance medley relay, which finished 16.
The women’s distance medley relay composed of sophomores Whitney Woods and Roslyn Bingly, freshman Megan Thacker, and junior Holly Bright smashed the old school record with a time of 12:15.07. This effort was good enough to earn the squad a ninth place finish.
Other outstanding performances included Glaspie and High in the 200-meter dash. Both ran seasonal and indoor personal bests. Glaspie sprinted to a 21.77, which was good for ninth out of 63 competitors. High was a step behind in 19 place with a time of 21.90.
On the women’s side, sophomores Ronnetta Burgess and Ashelyn Little also set seasonal and personal bests in the 200, running 25.32 and 25.42, respectively. Little also had an all time indoor personal best in the 400-meter dash, running 57.97. Bingley was close behind with a time of 59.30.
In the 800, Thacker raced her way to a indoor personal best topping her previous mark by four seconds with a time of 2:17.70. Bright recorded her fastest mile time ever, clocking 5:13.19.
In the field events, freshman Kamata Potts and sophomore Ceda Bowden leaped to personal bests in the long jump, marking 18’10.00 and 18’09.00, respectively. Junior Rosalyn Hood also had a good showing in the event with a seasonal best of 18’2.50.
The women’s 4×400-meter rely squad of Bingley, Bowden, Little and Hood ran a 3:53.05, which is their fastest of the season.
“We had a good weekend,” said head coach Danny Williamson on the two-day meet. “Some things went very well for us. We still have some areas that we must improve upon if we are going to challenge for the Southern Conference Team Championship.”
He added, “If we as a team can step everything up like some did this past weekend, then we will give ourselves a golden opportunity.”
Next, the squad will travel to Knoxville, TN to compete in the Tennessee Invitational February 23-24 in Johnson City, TN in preparation for the Southern Conference Indoor Championships.
