Bethel track and field record six top-10 finishes at Friends Spring Open
The Threshers were led by Fielder, Logue, Schrag, Schmidt, and Wise over the weekend.
WICHITA — The Bethel track and field team turned in six top-ten performances at the Friends Spring Open, a three-day meet, last Friday through Sunday.
“The competition level at this meet is always super big: D2, D1, JUCO and NAIA schools are at this meet so the jumps are normally dominated by the D1 and D2 schools,” said Myiah Logue from Moundridge.
Despite the high level of competition, Logue was able to make finals for her first time in this meet, recording two top-ten finishes, 9th in the long jump with a jump of 4.76 meters and 4th in the triple jump with a jump of 11.42 meters.
The Threshers’ distance crew is the strength of their team at this point in the season, with them having four top-ten finishes at the meet, rounding out the rest of the six. The highest finisher was Marcus Fielder, a freshman from Newton, who finished 3rd in the 10,000 meters with a time of 35:43.87 minutes.
“I got out too slow in the 10k, but at the 5k mark, Coach Julio told me that I would have to run faster to get a good time,” said Fielder. “ I was able to cut down and run the second 5k faster than the first.”
Coming in right behind Fielder was Tobin Wise, with a 5th-place finish, about 16 seconds behind Fielder. Luke Schmidt was the other men’s distance placer, finishing 8th in the 3,000 meters with a time of 10:21.81 minutes. The last top-ten finisher is a familiar name for Thresher track fans, sophomore Bethany Schrag, with a 5th-place time of 12:44.37 minutes.
The Threshers struggled in the meet in sprints and throws, but with a young core the team is looking up and ready for the rest of the season.
“There is a lot of potential for this team,” said Fielder. “We were able to generate a lot of momentum through the indoor season but have struggled a little bit thus far to hold that momentum into the outdoor season. However, I think that we are beginning to turn a corner, and you will begin to see us put down some better times at the coming meets. I love where [the culture] is at, it is very supportive and inclusive.”
The Threshers are optimistic heading forward, preparing for their upcoming meet on Saturday at Wichita State for the KT Woodman Invite.