Lady Tiger pole vaulters place in the top three at the national championships
Getting a pair of All-American performances from freshmen pole vaulters Ke’Mauria Burnham and Aaliyah Treat, the Cowley College women’s track and field team is in fourth place after day one of the NJCAA Division 1 Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships held Thursday in Hobbs, New Mexico.
The Lady Tigers also earned three team points from their 4x800-meter relay team, which placed sixth with a time of 9:22.42.
Iowa Western is currently in first place in the women's standings with 34 points. New Mexico Junior College is second with 29.5 points. Vincennes (18 points) is in third place, only one point in front of Cowley (17 points).
Burnham and Treat finished amazing freshmen seasons, with Treat finishing as the indoor national champion in the pole vault, to go along with a top-three national finish in the event during the outdoor season. Burnham broke the school's pole vault record during the outdoor season and was the national runner-up in the event at the indoor and outdoor national championships.
The Tiger men were led on day one by sophomore Brett Clevenger, placing 10th in the hammer throw.
South Plains Junior College is in first place in the men's team standings with 43 points. National Championship host New Mexico Junior College is in second place with 41 points, while Iowa Central and Iowa Western are tied for third place with 18 points.
The meet will continue on Friday and Saturday.
Results:
WOMEN
*Pole vault – Ke'Mauria Burnham, 12-4, national runner-up; Aaliyah Treat, 12-4, third place; Ariana Gomez, 10-10 ¼, ninth.
*Hammer – Elyce Roglin, 155-5, 14th; Mayce McDonald, 144-0, 18th; Katie Cook, 140-0, 21st.Marta Herrera-Lombardo, Euvia Bennett, 9:22.42, sixth.
*4x800-meter relay – Cowley (Linda Filipova, Zuzana Bokova, Marta Herrera-Lombardo, Euvia Bennett), 9:22.42, sixth.
*400-meter hurdles – Bokova, 1:03.34, 10th.
MEN
*Hammer – Brett Clevenger, 167-0, 10th; Micheal Hesseltine, 161-4, 13th; Joshua Patton, 161-3, 14th.
*Pole vault – Cason Merritt, 14-5 ½, 12th.