Eagles begin outdoor season

The Eagles participated in their first outdoor track meet since 2019, earning eight placements, Saturday, at the Spank Blasing Invitational Track and Field Meet in Pueblo, Colorado.

“I was really happy with our results for the first meet,” Head Track and Field Coach Riley Northrup said in a message to the Eagle. “We had several top 10 CSC marks and a bunch of PRs.”

The Eagles continued their success in the jumping events, carrying over from the indoor track season.

Indoor All-American Naishaun Jernigan, sophomore of Springfield, Massachusetts, marked his furthest jump at 23 feet, 7.25 inches in the long jump, finishing fourth.

Derrick Nwagwu, sophomore of Aurora, Colorado, finished fourth in the triple jump, with a leap of 48 feet, 7.25 inches.

Jourdaine Cerenil, freshman of Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, took fourth in the high jump after clearing 5 feet, 3 inches.

Miranda Gilkey, junior of Lusk, Wyoming, finished tied for fifth in the long jump with 5 feet, 1 inch. Alec Penfield, sophomore of Lusk, Wyoming, snuck into eighth place in the high jump, clearing 6 feet, 4.75 inches.

Quest Savery, freshman of Miles City, Montana, took fourth in the season’s first javelin competition with a throw of 183 feet.

Also in the throws, Dylan Soule, freshman of Polk, threw the javelin 159 feet, 5 inches, placing him eighth place for his first javelin competition in his career.

Osvaldo Cano, sophomore of Oshkosh; Osiel Cano of Oshkosh; Harley Rhoades junior of Douglas, Wyoming; and Greg Logsdon freshman of Torrington, Wyoming, took fifth in the 4×400 meter relay with a time of 3:21.24.

“I could tell everyone was enjoying the sunshine and being back on the track and in the field competing,” Northrup said. 

Another set of athletes traveled to Spearfish, South Dakota for the Yellow Jackets Spring Open Meet at Black Hills State.

Morgan Fawver, freshman of McCook, brought over his success from the indoor season by finished first in the 100-meter dash, timed for 10.59 seconds. (faster than any time posted in at CSU-Pueblo meet) Fawver finished second in the long jump, leaping 23 feet, 2.5 inches.

“Morgan Fawver opened up with PRs in both the long jump and 100 meter,” Northrup said.

The jump events for the Eagles were highly successful in Spearfish as well. Destiny Pelton, freshman of Fort Morgan, Colorado, won the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 1 inch.

Javan Lanier, graduate of Aurora, Colorado, jumped 22 feet, 7.25 inches in the long jump, finishing fourth.

Joss Linse, junior of Plattsmouth, finished fifth in the triple jump with his farthest mark, 44 feet, 8.25 inches. Joe Dumsa, junior of Sandy, Utah, cleared 6 feet, 2.25 inches and finished third in the high jump. 

The Eagles are scheduled to continue their season at the Central Nebraska Challenge Meet in Kearney, Saturday.

“It’s tough having a Sunday meet because of the time constraints heading into the next week,” Northrup said. “Our team is tough, and I have full confidence they won’t let a small adjustment like that (short week) impact their performances.”