Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State qualifiers will get an early start today in the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championship.
The three-day meet starts at noon CDT in Pueblo, Colo.
Southern senior Lisa Vengels will run the 100-meter hurdles, the opening event in the women’s heptathlon. Vengels will also compete in the high jump, shot put and 200 dash in the heptathlon today.
She shattered the Missouri Southern school record during her first heptathlon in three years at the MIAA outdoor conference championships. Vengels’ seven-event total of 4856 points was 459 above the year-old school record set by Brandy Simpson.
The first open field event, the men’s hammer throw, starts at 1:30 CDT, at Colorado State Pueblo’s ThunderBowl. Junior John Tolbert will represent Pittsburg State in the event.
The Gorillas are sending 15 qualifiers to the national meet, including 11 in the men’s division.
After the men’s hammer competition, senior Heidi Smith will throw for PSU in the women’s division.
The Gorillas also have a pair of qualifiers — sophomore Keenan Soles and senior Kiara Jones — in the men’s long jump, which starts at 4:30 CDT. Soles has jumped 25 feet, 81⁄4 inches, the best mark by a D-2 athlete this season.
Pittsburg State’s 4x100-meter relay team will run its qualifying race at 6 p.m. CDT. Members are Soles and the freshmen trio of Jason Crow, Jordan Riffel and Austin Riggs.
Southern sprinters Jasmin Hughes and Jeffrey Fraley will make their outdoor national debuts in the qualifying round of the 100 dash, starting with the women’s race at 7:10 p.m.
Fraley, a freshman, is ranked No. 4 in the nation in the 100 and No. 2 in the 200.
Missouri Southern has six individuals entered in Friday’s events, plus Vengels who will be completing the heptathlon. PSU has four Friday entrants.
Pittsburg State Sports
Lions, Gorillas begin competition in outdoor track and field championship
- Pittsburg State Sports
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Gorillas stay alive with 3-1 win over UCO
Ryan Ventura’s two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning broke a 1-1 tie and kept Pittsburg State’s MIAA Tournament hopes alive Thursday night in a 3-1 victory against Central Oklahoma at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
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7 Lions, 8 Gorillas names all-MIAA
Seven Missouri Southern Lions and eight Pittsburg State Gorillas have been named to the MIAA’s all-conference baseball team, it was announced Thursday.
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Lions qualify 12 for track nationals
Missouri Southern has qualified a dozen athletes — six men and six women — for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, it was announced Tuesday.
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Western rebounds to end Pitt State's season
David Chew’s three-run home run gave Missouri Western a 6-0 third-inning lead, and the Griffons went on to eliminate Pittsburg State 11-4 Friday afternoon in the MIAA Tournament at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
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PSU baseball prepares for another backyard battle
Pittsburg State baseball coach Matt Murray grew up with four brothers, so he knows all about backyard battles between familiar foes with a mutual respect and a mutual level of competition.
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Frontenac's Johnson signs with PSU track program
Frontenac senior pole vaulter Taylor Johnson figures if you’re going to dream, you might as well dream big.
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Pitt State edges Southern for MIAA track title
In what was essentially a two-team race, Pittsburg State had just a touch more fuel.
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Gorillas upset Central Missouri, head to Kansas City
The Pittsburg State Gorillas scored twice in the top of the 10th to win 9-7 and complete the series upset of Central Missouri in the first round of the MIAA Tournament on Sunday at Fort Hays State’s Larks Park.
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MSSU, PSU set to battle for MIAA track title
The scene is set today for a Pittsburg State-Missouri State battle for the men’s MIAA outdoor track and field championship.
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Gorillas eliminated from MIAA softball tourney
A disastrous first inning proved to be just enough to end Pittsburg State’s season on Saturday.
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