Bethel

North Newton, Kan. – The McPherson track and field team battled through cloudy, windy conditions on Saturday at the Bethel Invitational held at Thresher Stadium in North Newton, Kan. The Bulldogs set two school records on Saturday, with junior Andrea Swanson in the hammer throw and junior Mitch Krier in the pole vault.

Swanson, the only Bulldog competing for the women’s team, opened her day with a fifth place finish in the shot put with a throw of 12.69m (41’-7.75”). But her day was highlighted by her impressive school record breaking distance of 43.83m (143’-9”) in the hammer. Prior to Saturday, Swanson’s best was a 40.58m (133’-2”) earlier this season at the ACCK Championships. Her throw was good for fifth place in the competition.

On the men’s side, Krier was the lone Bulldog to win on Saturday. Krier vaulted a season best and school record 4.85m (15’-11”) in just his second meet of the season. More importantly, Krier’s vault bettered his National Qualifying ‘B’ Standard mark of 4.72m (14’-0”) to National Qualifying ‘A’ Standard position.

In other field events, freshman Garrett Sharp cleared 1.91m (6’-3.25”) in the high jump, while freshman Grant Miller threw 10.39m (34’-1.25”) in the shot put.

The McPherson men’s track team continued to improve on the season marks, as the Bulldog tracksters set six season bests. Junior Anthony Leal led the team with an 8th place finish in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:00.57. Leal’s time was nearly two seconds faster than his previous season best.

Other notables from the track include freshman Kyle Smith’s second place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and sophomore David Parry’s sixth place finish in the 1,500-meter run. Smith, competing in the steeplechase for the first time in his collegiate career, posted a season best time of 10:44.37, while Parry set a personal record of 4:10.96 in the 1,500-meters.

The Bulldogs will be back in action this weekend as they travel to the KCAC Championships. The meet is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, while the second half will start at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Ottawa University is the acting host school for the meet this year.