Kupka highlights Tiger athletes competing at KU Relays

Led by freshman Isabella Kupka advancing to the finals in three events, the Cowley College women's and men's outdoor track and field teams competed Thursday through Saturday at the KU Relays in Lawrence, KS.

The Tigers battled a roller coaster of weather conditions over the three-day event. From the heat and wind for the first couple of days to the cold and wind on day three. The meet had to be postponed because of storms and lightening on day two, then canceled early because of storms and hail on day three.

"Needless to say that despite the prestigious meet and great competition there was going to be some events that it was going to be very difficult to run fast times in," Cowley head coach Cameron Rieth said. "However, we cannot control the weather, all we can do is show up and compete to the best of our abilities. Not every day is going to be perfect, so I believe learning how to handle ourselves in these kind of weather situations is important for our growth as competitors."

Kupka advanced to the finals in the 100, 200, and 400-meter dash while placing third in the 200.

"Izzy had herself a big weekend of racing making it to the finals in three events," Rieth said.

Andrea Garcia-Gonzalez also competed well and placed 10^th in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 5:01.01.

"Andrea had a very impressive personal best in the 1,500 in the tough conditions," Rieth said. "If you are getting close to your personal best on a day like we had, it shows you can do something special."

Other personal best marks on the women's side came from Kayla McClellan and Sarah Robinson in the hammer.

The men's hammer team of Jaden Schneeberger, Treavor Green, and Julian Washington also established personal best marks at the meet.

"Our hammer squad threw down this weekend," Rieth said. "All of them showed up and had themselves a day. We currently have the No. 2 and No. 4 ranked individuals for each gender. I was really impressed with how they handled the competition."

Another highlight was Luke Faulkner hitting the national qualifying mark in the pole vault with a personal best of 15-1 ¾.

"Luke crushed it in the pole vault, finally joining the 15-foot club," Rieth said.

Cowley will take a split squad of athletes to compete Friday and Saturday at the University of Oklahoma John Jacobs Invitational. While, other athletes will compete Saturday at the Emporia State Midwest Classic beginning at 9 a.m.

Results from KU Relays:

MEN

*200-meter dash – K'Anthony Benjamin, 21.60, 21^st.

*Pole vault – Luke Faulkner, 15-1 ¾, national qualifier.

*Hammer – Jaden Schneeberger, 57.67 meters, fourth; Treavor Green, 56.56 meters, sixth; Julian Washington, 43.21 meters, 18^th.

WOMEN

*4x800-meter relay – Cowley, Delicia Boothe, Andrea Garcia-Gonzalez, Layla Ingalls, 9:54.46, sixth.

*100-meter dash – Isabella Kupka, 12.34, 22^nd.

*200-meter dash – Kupka, 26.07, third, national qualifer.

*400-meter dash – Kupka, 59.61, sixth.

*800-meter run – Abigail Pinnock, 2:23.57, 11^th; Layla Ingalls, 2:35.33, 36^th.

*1,500-meter run – Garcia-Gonzalez, 5:01.01, 10^th; Boothe, 5:12.42, 20^th.

*Triple jump – Abby Rueschhoff, 10.70 meters, 13^th.

*Hammer – Kayla McClellan, 49.32 meters, seventh; Sarah Robinson, 48.05 meters, 10^th.