AMES, Iowa – A pair of Missouri S&T high jumpers and pole vaulter Jared Anders came away winners in their events and three of the Miners made provisional qualifying marks Saturday to highlight the performances of the S&T track and field teams Saturday at the Iowa State Open.
Tamara McCaskill, the third place finisher at last year’s NCAA Division II Championships, cleared 5-3 to win the event by two inches over St. Cloud State’s Nish Rubash. Meanwhile, Joe Vehige was the co-winner of the men’s high jump event as he went over the bar at 6-4 ¾ to share first place with Southwest Baptist’s Stephan Albin.
Anders led a 1-2 finish for the Miners along with Dan Hellwig in the pole vault, as both vaulters cleared 15-11 to top the field and reach NCAA Division II provisional qualifying marks in the process. Anders won the event based on fewer misses at the winning height.
As a whole, the Miners had 11 individuals finish among the top 10 in various events Saturday. Terry Robinson recorded a third place finish in the 60-meter hurdles with a mark of 8.17 seconds that also met the provisional qualifying standard, while Eric Fairbairn placed fourth in the 1,000-meter run in a time of 2:32.75.
S&T also got fifth place showings from Peter Hollenbeck in the pole vault at 15-5 and Jeff Pike in the triple jump of 43-3 3/4, as well as sixth place finishes from Joe Smith in the triple jump at 42-8¼ and Derick Winkle in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.35 seconds in the finals.
Elijah Thomas was seventh in the triple jump at 42-8¼ and Jeremiah Johnson was eighth in the shot put with a top throw of 49-3.
S&T also got a fourth place finish from its 4x400-meter relay team of Brendan Smith, Bryan Hogan, Bryan Kluge and Brandon Etzold as it finished in a time of 3:22.66, behind only the marks set by a trio of Division I schools.
Dan Forbes placed 12th in the unseeded 3,000-meter run in 9:16.50 as did Cody Wiggins in the triple jump, while Allen Ernst ended up 15th in the seeded 3,000-meter event, recording a time of 8:51.05. Mike Renkoski also posted a 15th place finish in the 1,000-meters with a time of 2:39.50.
Brendan Smith took 16th place in the mile with a time of 4:23.05, just ahead of Eric Fairbairn’s mark of 4:23.21 and Brett Vessell finished 17th in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.05 seconds. Lucas Jaster also recorded a 16th place mark in the shot put at 44-11½.
Besides McCaskill’s winning effort in the high jump, the Lady Miners’ performances were highlighted by Aubrey Moore’s ninth place showing in the 400-meter dash with a time of 58.39 seconds and Kassie Osborne’s 11th place finish in the 600-yard run with a time of 1:29.12. S&T’s 4x400-meter relay team of Moore, Natalie Updyke, Lindsay Crutcher and Osborne finished 10th overall in 4:03.63.
Friday’s competition
Missouri S&T resumed its indoor track and field season Friday night with several competitors in action on the first day of the Iowa State Open.
S&T got a second place finish from freshman Lisa Lake in the unseeded 5,000-meter run as she posted a time of 19:24.73. Her sister, Mindy Lake, took fifth in that event in 19:49.20.
Sarah Stach had an 11th place finish in the long jump with a top mark of 16-3 ¾, while Aubrey Moore placed 13th in the 200-meters with a time of 25.79 seconds.
The men’s top finish was recorded by Brett Vessell, who came in sixth place in a time of 22.29 seconds.
Grant Brown took 13th place in the seeded 5,000-meter race, recording a time of 15:47.74. Freshman Jusean Archibald came in 15th place in the long jump with a mark of 21-2 ½, one spot ahead of Elijah Thomas who came in at 21-1 ½. Lucas Jaster posted a mark of 47-7 ¾ in the weight throw.