Senior Megan Elder finished first in the pole vault while sophomore Eli Smith captured a runner-up finish in the 400-meter dash and helped lead the 4×300-meter relay team to a school record for the Northwest Missouri State track and field teams Friday at the Cyclone Holiday Preview.
Elder broke her own personal best mark with a jump of 11-05.75 (3.50m) to finish first in the pole vault. Her mark also now gives her the third and fourth best indoor pole vault marks in the Northwest record books.
Smith picked up where he left off after a stellar freshman season racing to a runner-up finish in the 400-meter dash. Smith’s time of 48.86 was just behind first place Michael Ashley of Lincoln who clocked a time of 48.44. Smith’s mark was also the best of his career and now stands as the fourth best mark on the all-time list at Northwest.
Smith also teamed with Porter Groves, Zach Dixon and Kellen Schroeder to record a top 10 finish in the 4×300-meter relay. The relay team tied the school record in the 4×300-meter relay that Smith was a member of and set last December with an identical mark of 2:23.94. Their time was five second off the pace of first place Iowa State.
On the men’s side a pair of pole vaulters also recorded high marks as Will Haer finished fourth and Kemper Kellerstrass checked in at eighth. Haer’s mark of 15-11.00 was the second best of his career and moves into the No. 6 spot on the Northwest indoor records. Kellerstrass narrowly missed his personal best, which is also the 10th best mark on the all-time list at Northwest.
For the Bearcat women, Ashton Nibert claimed a personal best in the 400-meter dash with a third place finish. Nibert raced to a time of 57.10, which ranks as the third best time in the Northwest record book.
Also with top 10 finishes for the Northwest women were Audrey Bolinger and Emilee Messer. Both finished sixth in their respective races.
Bolinger’s time of 1:29.57 placed her just seven seconds behind first place Donnise Powell of Iowa State in the 600-yard run. Messer’s sixth place finish came in the 1-mile run as she finished with a time of 5:28.69.
Northwest continues action this weekend at the Nebraska-Kearney Pre-Holiday Invitational where several Bearcats raced in preliminary events on Friday. The finals at UNK will conclude on Saturday from Kearney, Neb.
— NWMSU Sports Information —