KCAC

Ottawa, Kan. – The Bulldogs tallied four individual victories and three runner-up finishes as the McPherson College track team finished eighth in the women’s competition and fifth on the men’s side at the annual KCAC Conference Championships. This year’s meet was held at the Bill “Bo” Boucek Track on the campus of Ottawa University.

Andrea Swason, Javier Ceja, Antowine Lamb and Mitchell Krier all claim individual KCAC Championships, while Rachel Leuthold, Swanson and Garrett Sharp finished second in their respective events.

Junior thrower Andrea Swanson opened Saturday’s competition with McPherson’s first KCAC Championship in the women’s shot put since Stacy Miles won the event in 1977. Swanson, a junior from Littleton, Colo., broke her own school record, 13.56m (44’-6”), with a mark of 13.78m (45’-2.5”).

Just hours later, Swanson would impress for the second time of the day in the women’s hammer throw with a second place finish. She solidified her spot in McPherson track history with a school record mark of 44.50m (146’-0”).

Teammate Rachel Leuthold also finished in runner-up position in the women’s pole vault. In just her second meet of the season, Leuthold vaulted 2.97m (9’-9”). Her clearance tied the winning height, but was on her second attempt to give her second place in the event.

Other notables from the women’s competition include, freshman Sonia Fuentes finishing with a season best time of 14.74 seconds in the 100-meters and sophomore Krissa Fuentes setting a season best of 32.75m (107’-5”) in the discus.

McPherson College sophomore Javier Ceja continued to impress in the men’s competition. Ceja opened Saturday with a fifth place finish in the 1,500-meters, crossing the line at 4:00.61 before winning the men’s 5,000-meters. His winning time of 15:03.62 is the fastest at the KCAC Championships since Elliott Rodda (Southwestern College) in 1988. Ceja also became the first McPherson College male to win the event since Dave Burgess in 1978.

Junior pole-vaulter Mitch Krier won his first KCAC Championship as a Bulldog with a vault of 4.73m (15’-6.25”). Krier’s mark was two feet higher than the second place finisher, as he became the first Bulldog to win the event since Mike Butsch in 1971.

Senior Antowine Lamb and teammate Garrett Sharp swept the top two spots in the men’s high jump, as Lamb defended his 2009 KCAC Championship with a height of 2.03m (6’-8”) to claim the 2010 crown. Sharp followed Lamb’s lead with a clearance of 1.93m (6’-4”) for second place.

Other notables from the men’s championship included, David Parry finishing with a season best and personal record of 1:57.16 in the 800-meters, while setting a season best in the 1,500-meters (4:05.23; 7th).

Bulldog freshman Kyle Smith set a season best in the 3,000-meters steeplechase, placing fourth with a time of 10:41.87. Junior Rattanck Mour rounds out the Bulldog notables with an eighth place finish in the 100-meters. His time was 11.28.

The Bulldogs have one more warm up meet, the McPherson Twister Twilight, prior to the NAIA National Outdoor Championships on May 20-22, 2010.