With one final tune-up accumulated two days of work for the Wayne State College women's and men's outdoor track & field program.
From Vermillion, South Dakota, WSC competed in the USD Tune-Up on May 2 - 3. The meet attracted six Division I schools along with Augustana, Northern State and Wayne State from the NSIC and Bellevue, Bismarck State, Dakota State and Nebraska Wesleyan.
In the women's division, senior thrower Reilly Young recorded a second-place finish in the discus (171'). She tied an NCAA provisional mark that currently ranks third in NCAA Division II.
Senior Hailey Baker had a sixth-place finish in the hammer throw with a top mark of 178' 3".
In the 800-meter run, sophomore Meghan Cunningham was third at 2:24.80, freshman Kaitlyn Bloomenrader fifth in a time of 2:27.91, freshman Allie Czapla fifth (2:28.17) and junior Jozlyn Barnes seventh at 2:31.52.
The 5,000-meter run saw junior Madeline Kunz take seventh at 20:05.33 and junior Sydney Escritt right behind in eighth with a time of 20:06.36.
The Wildcat 4 x 100-meter relay team of junior Elizabeth Mayer, sophomore Alyssa Folds, freshman Zoey Holmes and freshman Reagan Murphy came in fifth place with a time of 48.84 seconds.
During the men's division, two new school records and four event wins were recorded by the Wayne State men's outdoor track and field team.
The first school record was set by the 4 x 100-meter relay team of freshman Luke Klabenes, freshman Mitchell Hupp, senior Wyatt Nissen and freshman Emmanuel Badejo who crossed the tape first in a time of 40.32 seconds, breaking the previous school mark of 40.78 set three weeks ago at the South Dakota Challenge. The new time of 40.32 is also an NCAA provisional mark.
The second school record was set by Badejo in the 400-meter dash, winning the event with a time of 46.39 seconds that now ranks #8 in NCAA Division II. The old school record was also held by Badejo in 46.71 seconds and set three weeks ago at the USD Challenge.
Other event wins were recorded by junior Quentin Dreyer in the 800-meter run at 1:56.07 and Hupp winning the 200-meter dash in 21.36 seconds.
Second-place finishes were recorded by freshman Ethan Walters in the 800-meter run in a time of 1:56.67 while sophomore Jaxson Ninete had a second-place finish in the hammer throw at 188' 6".
Junior thrower Daylin Mallory was fifth in the discus (163' 3") and sixth in the shot put at 51' 10" while senior Daniel Elge was sixth in the hammer throw (183' 1") and eighth in the shot put with a mark of 49' 7 ¾".
Other top finishers for the Wildcats were junior Brody Lucas fifth in the 800-meter run (1:57.92), freshman Mujeeb Adewuyi was sixth in the 400-meter hurdles in 55.12 seconds, Nissen was seventh in the 200-meter dash (21.83 seconds) and freshman Akron Jostand took eighth in the 800-meter run in a time of 1:59.75.
The Wayne State College women's and men's outdoor track & field program will next have student-athletes participate in the NSIC Outdoor Championships in Duluth, Minnesota Thursday, May 8 -Saturday, May 10.
