National Titles Aplenty🏆
from Virginia Beach to Albuquerque
Pittsburg State Men🏆🦍
The Monday before the NCAA DII Indoor Track & Field Championships, 3x World Championship medalist and former Pittsburg State foe Trevor Bassitt gave credit to the men of Pittsburg State, a team he faced many times during his time at Ashland.
As the weekend progressed, Bassitt’s tweet aged like fine wine, with the Gorillas dominating the entirety of Division II, pulling away for a forty-four point victory. With five national champions, Pittsburg State took an early lead on Day 2 and refused to look back, accumulating an additional seven All-American performances, leading to a forty-four point victory over runner-up Adams State. With the combination of firepower and their depth, I think it would have taken nearly a miracle for any other team to keep up with Kyle Rutledge’s squad.
Besides the pure dominance from Pitt State, something that stood out to me was their ‘next man up’ mentality that proved key in multiple events
For example, in the triple jump, junior L.J. Kiner came into the weekend ranked 3rd and was the defending champion. Kiner went on to finish in 11th, jumping 48-3.25, his shortest mark in his time at Pittsburg State. That proved to not be a problem, as his teammate Treyvon Ferguson recorded a season best and won the national title by nearly half of a foot. The previous day in the long jump, the top-ranked performer of the year, Cordell Tinch finished 10th, while Kiner won the event with a huge PR of 26-4.5, with over a foot of room in between him and the runner-up. Both of these scenarios really display the capabilities of this team, showing just how dangerous the depth of the team can be.
Though he didn’t win the long jump, Tinch claimed both the 60mH and the high jump crowns, etching his name into the record books yet again. On Friday, Tinch ran 7.52 in the 60mH prelims, and then followed that up with a 7.51 in the finals, giving him the top three marks in DII 60mH history, including his collegiate record of 7.50. Tinch was joined in the finals by Daylin Williams and TJ Caldwell, as the trio finished 1-2-7, racking up twenty points. Tinch followed up his gold on the track with a gold in the field, winning the high jump with a clearance of 7-1.75. Cadman Evans of Central Missouri also cleared the same height but took an extra attempt to do so, while Tinch did it on his first. The pair of titles were the first of his career, and I can’t imagine they’ll be his last.
The fifth national champion for the Gorillas wasn’t a surprise in any aspect, as the top ranked quartet of Sam Tudor, Bailey Stone, Corey Lyons and Braylen Brewer won the 4x400m, just hundredths of a second ahead of the Academy of Art.
The other key performances that helped the Gorillas double the Grizzlies’ total came in the 60m, 200m and the 400m. In the 60m, the duo of Xavier Carmichael and AJ Evans both guaranteed points for their team by making Saturday’s final, and then finished 3rd and 5th, notching ten points. Evans followed that up with a 4th place finish in the 200m, with season bests coming in both events. In the 400m, Brewer and Lyons finished runner-up and 6th, putting up another eleven points for the defending outdoor champs.
After the dust began to settle, and teams began to pick up their team camp, it was official. The Pittsburg State Gorillas had just won their second indoor national title, and their second team title in the last 294 days. Congratulations to Kyle Rutledge and his entire staff, and of course, to the men that took care of business over the weekend.
Jayhawks & Shockers at Altitude🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅
Out in Albuquerque, NM, up at 5300 feet, five Jayhawks and Shockers came home first-team All-Americans, as they went up against some of the best athletes in the world.
As she has all year, Rylee Anderson continued her stretch of great competition, finishing with runner-up honors in the women’s high jump, after clearing 6-2. This is Anderson’s highest ever finish at NCAA’s, and her second ever All-American finish. Crazily, this was also the first loss for Anderson this indoor season, after winning her last six competitions. Anderson will now move on to the outdoor season, where she has a legitimate shot to represent the USA at the World Championships this summer. At the moment, Anderson sits third in the USA women’s high jump rankings.
In the men’s high jump, Wichita State’s Brady Palen and Kansas’ Devin Loudermilk put on a clinic, with Loudermilk finishing 3rd and Palen taking 7th. Loudermilk tied for third with Louisville’s Trey Allen, with both men clearing 7-3 on their third attempt. Palen was able to clear 7-1.75 on his third attempt, tying with three other athletes in the process. For both men, this was their first ever All-American honor, and their first time ever competing at the NCAA Championships.
On the track, Michael Joseph took the final qualifying spot in prelims, taking 8th in a near season best time of 45.81, less than a tenth of a second ahead of the next finisher. In the final, Joseph took 7th with a time of 47.18, as he earned his first All-American honor in his first opportunity to do so.
Clayton Simms is now three-for-three at the NCAA Championships, as he earned his third All-American honor in as many tries. Simms took 5th in Albuquerque, clearing 18-4.75, his second best clearance this season. His 5th place finish is also his highest at the championships, besting his 8th and 7th place finishes prior. Former Jayhawk and former training partner of Simms, Zach Bradford finished runner-up as he cleared 19-4.75.
DII All-Americans🐯🎩🐝🦍
Do you want to know one of the coolest things about the NCAA DII Indoor Championships? All four Kansas programs came home with at least one All-American honor. For Emporia State, Travis Morrison came into the shot put competition ranked 15th out of 16 entries, and walked away with a 7th place finish and an All-American honor. Morrison started his day with his best throw, as he heaved the sixteen pound metal ball 57-8.25 feet on his first attempt. After the first flight, Morrison sat in second, but survived a deep second flight, as he held on for 7th. This was his first NCAA Championship action since May of 2021, and I’d say he made up for lost time. The Hornet men placed 45th in the team scores.
The Washburn Ichabods brought home a pair of All-Americans to the state’s capital, as Connor Last and Isabella Hohl earned hardware in the men’s long jump and the women’s 60m. For Last, this was his fourth consecutive appearance at NCAA’s, and his second All-American finish, after a runner-up finish a year ago. Last’s best mark was 24-1, which came on his second jump. Similar to Last, Hohl is no stranger to the sport’s big stage, as this is her third consecutive time competing at the national championships. However, Hohl was finally able to earn the coveted All-American honor, which was solidified after she finished second in the third heat, running 7.49, just a hundredth of a second ahead of third. Hohl would finish 6th in the final, in a time of 7.44. The Ichabod men finished 40th, while the women took 42nd.
Next up are the Tigers out of Fort Hays State, as they collected a quartet of All-Americans across three events. Their lone track All-American was Hayden Albright, who took 7th in his first ever individual final. Albright already has a pair of All-American honors from the 2021 Outdoor 4x100m and 4x400m, but no individual honors. However, that all changed in Virginia, as he took 7th in the 400m final, running 47.72 in the second heat. As they typically do, the pole vaulting pair of Jacob Clark and Ryan Stanley, taking 6th and 7th with clearances of 17-0.75 and 16-8.75. For Clark, this is his second All-American honor in his third championship appearance, while this is Stanley’s sixth All-American honor, with two of those being national titles. The fourth and final Tiger All-American was none other than Nolan Churchman, a man who can do it all. In his best Heptathlon performance since February of 2022, Churchman earned his third All-American honor in the event, and his fourth overall. As a team, the Tiger men finished 24th out of 53 teams that scored.
We already know how the men did, but it wouldn’t be fair to leave out the women! Combined, the Gorilla women totaled six first-team All-Americans, and an individual national champion as well.
Auna Childress, who had been unbeaten in the triple jump for the entirety of the 2022-2023 season didn’t let any of the pressure get to her, as she made her presence known, jumping 43-6, a new PR. Childress out jumped Taylor Nelloms of West Texas A&M by a foot. After two national championship appearances where she finished just outside the top eight, Childress left nothing up for grabs as she finally became an All-American, and of course, a national champion. Childress ends the season ranked within the top twenty athletes across all collegiate divisions.
On the track, Taniya Looney punched her ticket to the 60m final, after taking 4th in her heat, running 7.43 on the day. In the final. Looney finished in 8th, crossing in 7.50. Her first season in the crimson and the gold ends on a high note, as she heads into the outdoor season as an All-American. In the 60mH, Audreanae Hagan was just a tad shy of a top three finish, instead taking 4th in 8.28, a hundredth of a second back of 3rd. For Hagan, this is her second All-American honor, but her first individual honor. She’ll head into the outdoor season with a full head of steam and momentum from a spectacular indoor campaign.
In the more vertical of the field events, Erica Schamel and Shelbi Day each scored points, with Schamel taking 4th in the high jump and Day finishing in 8th in the pole vault. Schamel had a breakout season for the Gorillas, setting a new PR of 5-9.75, and winning the MIAA title in the event. The icing on the cake was her podium finish at NCAA, where she cleared 5-8.75, securing her first All-American finish. For Day, this was her first appearance on the national stage, and a new PR as well, clearing 12-11.5 on her first attempt.
The final All-American from Virginia Beach was Mattie Flanagan, who became an All-American for the first time in her career. Flanagan did it in entertaining fashion, setting a new PR in the event as a whole, along with new bests in the high jump and long jump.
As a whole, the Pittsburg State women placed 8th as a team, tying with Colorado School of Mines with 24 points.
Sunflower State Highlights🌻
Lawrence Free State graduate Emily Venters finished 5th in the women’s 5000m at the NCAA DI Indoor National Championships. Venters ran 16:25.28 at nearly 5000 feet, which would convert to roughly 15:52. Venters is finally getting the accolades and results she has been chasing, earning her third All-American honor.
Manhattan high school alum Clara Mayfield finished third in the women’s mile at the DIII championships in a race where it took a collegiate record to win. Mayfield crossed in 4:51.09. She also took 10th in the 3k in 9:44.86.
Clay Shively (Wichita-Trinity) and Wyatt Haughton (SM East) both ran in the Championship Mile at the New Balance Indoor Nationals a few weeks back, with Shively finishing 7th in 4:06.51 and Haughton taking 12th in 4:10.42. Trinity’s Sam Ferguson also ran the 2 Mile, where he ran a huge PR of 9:17.21.
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