by zach ripley

Guest writer

men:

While expectations for the Cornerstone men were not unreasonable, goals were set high, and many rose beyond those goals and expectations at the WHAC track meet last Saturday.

Among these strong performances was junior Joel Leong’s conference record and personal best throw in the weight throw, leaving him with a conference win and a third place ranking on the national list this season.

One of the top scorers for the men was freshman Kenny Tufflemire. Tufflemire took second place in the high jump with a national qualifying performance. He also finished fourth in both the long jump and triple jump for a total of 16 points.

“We missed some of our big goals for the meet,” distance coach Nate Van Holten said, “but for many of us, we still have nationals.”

Van Holten assured his athletes that the WHAC meet was only a stepping stone to the more important nationals meets.

Looking toward nationals, the men still have some work to do. “After a strong start in December followed by a somewhat disappointing season, Leong finally reached the level of performance he had been looking for,” head coach Rod Wortley said.

The fifth place nationally ranked men’s distance medley relay team also had a rocky season. With nationals approaching fast, these men will need to focus heavily in order to reach the level of performance necessary to compete on the national scene.

women:

With a stunning collection of individual and team performances, the CU women’s track team nearly snatched the conference victory from Aquinas’ grasp.

The women scored points in nearly every event, including long distance, sprints, jumps of every kind and throws. On the field side of things, Kay-De Vaughn earned the honors of individual MVP of the meet, winning the long jump and triple jump and taking third in the high jump and sixth in the shot put.

One point behind Vaughn was junior Andi Owens, who also took home two first place finishes in the mile and 1,000 meters, as well as taking third place in the 3,000 meters. Sophomore Brandi Hagan complemented Vaughn and Owens’ endeavors well, winning the pole vault, taking second in the 60 meter hurdles and third in the triple jump.

Head coach Rod Wortley called many of the women’s performances “exceptional” as athletes continually “rose to take the competition head-on.”

With many of these exceptional performances come great promises for the upcoming nationals competition in Johnson City, Tenn., on March 5-7. Many of the women, such as Vaughn, Owens and Hagan, as well as junior Kayla Wilson and sophomore Amy Boyer, ran or jumped national qualifying times in conference, placing some of them within the top 10 performances in the NAIA this year.

“The confidence the WHAC meet helped build will be essential,” Owens said. “I will need to show the same strength and endurance at nationals.”

Owens will be competing in multiple events at nationals, as will Vaughn and others.

One area the WHAC meet lacked that may have tipped the scale for Cornerstone is the racewalk.

This event is not commonly held at meets, to the frustration of two CU women in particular, junior Katie Malinowski and sophomore Janelle Brown. Both are returning All-Americans in the event from last year and are currently nationally ranked within the top six in the NAIA. Both are attempting to achieve All-American honors again this year.

Conference was a successful meet for many CU women, but it was only a precursor to the real challenge of nationals. And for many, it was a glimpse of potential success.