JOPLIN, MISSOURI – A&M-Commerce track and field wrapped up competition at the MSSU Lion Open, walking away with a handful of provisional qualifiers and even a site-record for their troubles.
In a field of 29 total teams competing in the 4x400 Relays, the A&M-Commerce men produced three squads who pulled off top-ten finishes in the event. The stars of the show were the team consisting of Dexter Lee, John David Rollins, Ravi Dubose and Soren Gnoss, who not only finished first overall with a time of 3:17.48, but broke the record at Mercy Track for the fastest time ever recorded at that facility. Not only that, with a flat track conversion factored in, the time would drop to 3:14.88, which would currently be the fifth fastest time in Division II. A squad consisting of Eric Williams, DJ Richardson, Josiah Dennis and Kevin Garcia finished fourth, with a time of 3:22.64.
Senior Matt Rich took over on the second day of the heptathlon, finishing first among his teammates in the remaining three events, the best of which was the pole vault in which he finished second overall with a 4.65m lunge. Rich finished with 5284 points for a third place finish, which after an adjustment for flat track conversion, secured the Lions' first automatic qualifier of the season. Teammates Hendrik Nungess (5012 points) and James Lundy (4613 points) each finished in the top ten, going seventh and eighth overall. Nungess' performance set a personal best, and also secured him a provisional mark, while Lundy too set a provisional mark following a flat track conversion.
Tyler Rambo entered the meet having already set a provisional qualifying mark of 16.43m in the shot put at last weekend's UCO Invitational. The junior nonetheless gilded the lily by improving on his mark, tossing for 16.67m to place second in the event.
The Lions performed well as a team in the men's 400 meter dash, with three athletes securing top-ten finishes. Dexter Lee led the way, finishing the event in 49.19 seconds for a third place finish. Right on his heels was teammate Soren Gnoss, who finished fourth (49.76). Ravi Dubose rounded things out with a 50.48 second finish, good enough for sixth overall.
Devonte Steele performed well in the triple jump, placing second overall with a 14.77m performance, falling just short of last week's mark. Gage Bowles came in on his tail, placing seventh (14.15m).
Jamal Curtis and Luis Romero rounded things out for the men in their respective events. Curtis went third overall in the high jump with a 2.03m hop, while Romero came in fourth in the mile with a 4:20.68 finish.
Though the women didn't come away with any provisional qualifying marks, they did secure a cornucopia of top-ten finishes to build off of. Like the men, their best finish came in the 4x400 relay, where the Lions finished fourth overall with a time of 4:02.16. The squad consisted of Kamryn McKee, Ana Baleveicau, Tyler Cottingham and Ashley Bassett. McKee and Baleveicau didn't stop there, as the two also placed fifth and ninth overall in the 400m dash, clocking in at 1:00.88 and 1:01.07 respectively. Bassett meanwhile would place eighth overall in the 600m run with a time of 1:30.97.
In the jumps, Selasie Koto finished tenth overall in the triple jump with a distance of 10.81m, falling just shy of her outing last week at the UCO Invitational. Freshman Hailey Nelson clocked in at ninth in the high jump with a clearance of 1.55m.
Jasmine Carter rounded things out for the Lions, placing sixth overall in the shot put, with a heave of 12.16m.
The Lions will be back on the road next weekend, this time heading west for the Don Kirby Elite Invitational at the Albuquerque Convention Center, hosted by the University of New Mexico Lobos.
