Cowley track and field teams open outdoor season

Five days after competing at the NJCAA National Indoor, the Cowley College track and field teams took partial squads to compete at the Southwestern Invite in Winfield.

“The kids we took to the meet did some good things,” Cowley head coach Mark Phillips said.

Cowley had the top-three vaulters in the men’s competition, with David Starnes placing first with a national qualifying mark of 15 feet. Jordan Pote and Willy Lucero each vaulted 14 feet.

“The vaulters all had a good day,” Phillips said.

Adam Wolkins’ winning throw of 203-feet-5 inches in the javelin qualified him for nationals in the event.

“Adam popped a good mark,” Phillips said.

Nate Newland ran well on the track as he won the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:06.36).

On the women’s side, Kelsey Poljansek, fresh off being named the indoor national champion in the shot put, broke the meet record and tied the school record with a national qualifying toss of 154-feet-2 inches in the discus. The mark was the same as she threw at last year’s national outdoor championships.

“It’s neat to see her open the year the way she left off last year,” Phillips said.

Poljansek also qualified for nationals in the shot put (46-feet-6 inches), while Bethany Schmidt (2:30.36) and Brianna Byers (2:30.89) placed second and third, respectively, in the 800-meter run.

Cowley will not return to action until March 29 when they host the Tiger Invite.

“It is shaping up to be as good or better than last year’s meet,” Phillips said. “There will be some good competition. We will go full bore at the meet.”

Cowley results:

WOMEN
*800-meter run — Bethany Schmidt (pictured), 2:30.36, second; Brianna Byers, 2:30.89, third.
•1,500-meter run — Chtisty Buller, 5:28.13, ninth.
•Pole vault — Anna German, 9-0, third.
•Shot put — Kelsey Poljansek, 46-6, first, national qualifier.
•Discus — Poljansek, 154-2, national qualifier, meet record, school-record.

MEN
•400-meter dash — Sean Brown, 52.74, ninth; Jerell McCane, 52.78, 10th; Mark Butler, 53.08, 11th.
•800-meter run — Larry Hill, 1:56.70, second; Harrison Philp, 1:58.61, fourth; Nate Newland, 2:022.29, eighth; Matt Silovsky, 2:01.24, 10th; Justin Cacaro, 2:06.93, 19th.
•1,500-meter run — Newland, 4:06.36, first; Cacaro, 4:08.53, fifth; Brett Koehn, 4:08.66, sixth; Johnny Purvis, 4:12.70, eighth; Gilbert Manzanares, 4:16.91, ninth; Philp, 4:21.38, 12th.
•110-meter hurdles — Rusty Gray, 17.01, fifth.
•400-meter hurdles — Gray, 1:00.43, fourth.
•High jump — Brown, 5-10, third; David Starnes, 5-10, third; Mark Butler, 5-4, seventh.
•Pole vault — Starnes, 15-0, national qualifier; Jordan Pote, 14-0, second; Willy Lucero, 14-0, third.
Discus — Chip Broaddus, 132-8, second.
•Javelin — Adam Wolkins, 203-5, first, national qualifier; Mitch Hewitt, 163-0, sixth; Butler, 124-1, 15th; Brown, 104-9, 19th.