Track & field takes home hardware at Nationals

The team sent 19 total athletes to Nationals; took home seven individual titles in Pittsburg

Bobbi Patrick
Staff Writer

This past weekend, a select few from the Mavericks’ track & field teams competed at the NCAA Division II Nationals meet in Pittsburg, Kansas, bringing home a total of seven All-American titles.

On the women’s side, senior Alexis Smith qualified the first day in prelims for the finals. Smith finished 8th in the finals with a time of 12.15, unfortunately she had a mishap on the third hurdle during the race, but still finished it out, making her an All-American.

Other women who finished out their successful indoor season at nationals included senior Heather Buckler, sophomores Grace Hartman & Khenadi Jones and freshman Elizabeth Brunner.

Buckler finished 15th in the shot put with a throw off 14.41 meters. While Brunner finished tenth in the triple jump with a jump of 12.23 meters making her a second team All-American. 

Hartman finished with a lifetime personal record and 14th in the nation in the 200-meter dash.

Jones finished ninth with second team All-American honors and a personal best time of 7.52 in the 60-meter dash.

On the men’s side, they brought home six other titles divided amongst events. 

In the 60-meter hurdles, senior Sydne Davis qualified for finals and ended up finishing fifth with a season personal best time of 7.98. 

In the heptathlon, senior Jack Curtis finished 10th overall with 5,218 points total. His performance made him a second-team All-American. 

Senior jumper Elijah Calderon-Pitchford represented the Mavericks in the triple jump with a leap of 13.33 meters.

In the men’s distance medley relay consisting of sophomore Jacob Wahlers, senior John Schuster, junior Aaron Mayfield, and senior Austin Pasch, the team finished 10th with a school record time and second-nd team All-American honors.

In the men’s 4×400 meter relay, the team of Schuster, seniors Jaquez Wilson & Reid Diamond, and sophomore Josh Phelps finished eighth with a time of 3:11.41. The team also broke the school record with this time.

Phelps and Schuster both also competed in the 400-meter dash, Schuster finished 11th earning second-team All-American honors and Phelps finished 17th.

Senior thrower Connor McCormick finished 16th overall in the men’s shot put with a throw of 18.81.

Both the track teams are done competing indoor, and the outdoor track season starts March 22 at the Wildcat Outdoor Classic in Wayne, Nebraska. 

Header photo: Senior track athlete Jack Curtis (pictured) was one of many from MSU who competed at Nationals over the weekend. (Mansoor Ahmad | MSU Reporter)