Track and Field team shines at California meets
As the snow storm rose in Chadron, CSC’s track and field team was on it’s way to sunshine and beaches. Despite the travel distance, Head Coach Ryan Baily had nothing but positive things to say about the bus ride to the meets.
“Our athlete’s were excited about the weather and the different level of competition they would be facing,” Bailey said, “the bus ride was long, but other things kept the trip worthwhile.”
CSC’s track and field teams were expected to compete Thursday, but got cancelled when a bomb threat forced evacuation of the California State Univeristy-Los Angeles campus. The news of the bomb threat spread throughout each team present five minutes prior to the women’s vault competition.
“It was such an unfortunate situation because the athlete’s were ready to compete, but this threat didn’t set them back,” Baily said.
Aria Hughes, sophomore of Hay Springs, was about to make her mark for long jump when she heard the news about the bomb.
“I first heard these girls saying that there was a bomb threat I didn’t know what to think. My first reaction was to get down to the field and tell coach what I had heard. I told Coach Ritzen about it and he was very calm and said he was told it was just a fire alarm but I think that was just a cover up to keep everyone calm,” Hughes said.
Fortunately, there were still two meets after the CSU competition was cancelled. Chadron State first headed to the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific University on Friday.
Three athletes broke school records for Chadron even with the heavy competition. Karl McFarlane, junior of Montego Bay, beat his own personal best and record in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.93 seconds. This time also captured second place overall, and qualified him for NCAA Division II National Championships.
The other two records were set by sibling duo Kolton and Kaelie Jelden, seniors of Eaton, Colo., both in the pole vault. Kolton Jelden vaulted 15 feet, nine inches to break the record by three and a half inches.
Kaelie Jelden also broke her own record in the pole vault with a height of 11 feet, 10 and a half inches. Her mark places her in second in the RMAC and provisionally qualifies her for the National Championships.
The Eagles then moved on to Long Beach, Calif., for the Long Beach State Invitational on Saturday. There were many athletes who athletes who recorded personal bests in their events.
Rebecca Volf, sophomore of Wood River, set the record for the steeplechase run in 11 minutes and 42.97 seconds. Volf’s time broke the previous record set in 2001 by nearly 20 seconds.
For the men, the 4X4 relay ran the second best time in school history, just 35 hundredths of a second behind the record. The relay team, Brandon Segelke, junior of Sidney, Frederick Culp, junior of Mililani, Hawaii, Gavan Archilbald, sophomore of St.Ann, Jamaica, and Phil Rivera, senior of Apple Valley, Calif., worked together to capture the time of three minutes and 16.47 seconds.
In field events, freshman of Eaton, Colo., Mel Herl threw a season best in the shot put with a throw of 43 feet, six inches.
Chadron State’s track and field team travels closer to home for their next competition, the RMAC Outdoor Championships, held in Golden, Colo., at the Colorado School of Mines.