Cortez continues to shine as Tiger track and field teams gear up for region tourney
With the Jayhawk Conference/Region VI Indoor Track and Field Championships approaching this weekend in Pittsburg, KS, the Tiger track and field teams got in a final tune up at the Seventh Annual Gorilla Indoor Classic held Saturday at the Robert W. Plaster Center in Pittsburg.
Highlighting the list of performances was freshman Arantxa Cortez placing first in the pole vault with a mark of 11-5. Cortez is currently ranked No. 1 in the pole vault entering the region meet.
"Arantxa was the highlight of the weekend," Cowley head coach Cameron Reith said. "She really showed out with her performance."
Other Tiger national qualifiers at the meet were Abner Johnson in the shot put and Goran Duijsters and Dawson Crawley in the 800-meter run.
"It was a very competitive meet, but we were able to establish lots of personal bests on the weekend," Rieth said.
The Lady Tigers are currently ranked 10th nationally, while the Tiger men are ranked 11th.
The Tiger men are the defending indoor conference champions, while the Lady Tigers placed second a year ago. The teams will hope to once again compete for conference titles Saturday and Sunday in Pittsburg, KS. Competition will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday.
"This is the strongest the region has been since I started coaching at Cowley," Rieth said. "We will be asking a lot out of both squads. We are starting to get healthy and I am excited to see how we stack up and compete."
Results:
MEN
*Weight throw – Abner Johnson, 47-6 ¾, 26th; Jaden Schneeberger, 47-4, 27th.
*Shot put – Johnson, 50-8 ¾, 13th, national qualifier; Ahmed Brown, 44-6, 24th.
*High jump – Gabe Maui, 6-2 ¾, seventh.
*60-meter hurdles – Diego Andres-Dougan, 8.31, 13th.
*60-meter dash – K'Anthony Benjamin, 7.14, 48th.
*200-meter dash – Benjamin, 22.49, 56th; Arnau Sagrera-Barnet, 22.89, 74th.
*800-meter run – Goran Duijsters, 1:54.77, 17th, national qualifier; Dawson Crawley, 1:54.96, 20th, national qualifier; Dylan Roe, 1:59.26, 58th.
*Mile run – Xoel Rodriguez-Abad, 4:25.38, 38th.
*5,000-meter run – Santiago Nunez, 15:35.25, 38th.
WOMEN
*Weight throw – Kyra Choice, 46-5 ¾, 23rd; Chloe Wilson, 45-8, 26th; Bernesha Knowles, 44-4 ½, 29th.
*Shot put – Choice, 37-7 ¼, 26th; Rashanna Thorne, 11.39, 37-3, 28th.
*High jump – Lashae' Smith, 4-8, 14th.
*Pole vault – Arantxa Cortez, 11-5, first, national qualifier.
*Triple jump – Abby Rueschhoff, 34-8 ½, 23rd.
*60-meter hurdles – Smith, 10.01, 58th; Allison Catlin, 10.06, 59th.
*60-meter dash – Genique Bassett, 8.42, 82nd.