Cade Kalkowski won the hammer throw and Ben Allen set a new school record in the shot put to lead the Wayne State men’s track and field team on the opening day of the 2019 Northern Sun Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Duluth, Minn.
As a team, Wayne State sits in second place after the opening day with 44 points, 10 points behind first-day leader Minnesota State and one ahead of University of Mary.
Kalkowski led a 1-3-7 finish for the Wildcats in the hammer throw, winning the event with a heave of 192 feet, 2 inches. Dylan Kaup earned All-NSIC honors with a third-place mark of 185-2 while Matthew Nemec placed seventh at 168-0.
Ben Allen broke a 33-year-old school record and earned All-NSIC honors in the shot put, placing third with an NCAA provisional mark of 54-5 1/4. The old school record was 54-0 set by Randy Ditter in 1986. Jayle Hinkle also reached an NCAA provisional mark, taking fifth in the event at 53-2 3/4.
Mikhail Sands received All-NSIC honors in the long jump, taking third with a leap of 22-10.
Robert Sullivan won the NSIC Decathlon with an NCAA provisional mark of 6,931 points while Noah Lilly took eighth in the event with 5,913 points.
In women’s action, Kenzie Sullivan earned a seventh-place finish in the shot put with a top mark of 45-6 1/4, while junior Tia Jones came in eighth in the hammer throw at 161-3.
In prelims, Jordyn Pester qualified for the finals in the 400-meter dash with the sixth-best qualifying time of 56.96 seconds for Saturday’s final.
Wayne State is in 13th place in the women’s team race with three points heading into Saturday’s second day of action.
