ASU women's DMR sets record

SPEARFISH, S.D.—A solid Saturday, featuring seven combined first-place finishes, led the Adams State University men's and women's indoor track & field teams to a pair of RMAC titles at the Ronald E. Young Center Fieldhouse.

The Championship meet was hosted by Black Hills State University.

The ASU men registered 158 points to jump from second to first place after Friday. With the win, the Grizzly men fended off rival Western State Colorado University who took second overall with 138 points.

With 130 points the ASU women pushed past rival Western State who placed second with 109 points. At the end of Friday, the ASU women stood in third.

The Adams State men rose to the top thanks in large part to their efforts in the 3000m and mile run. Sydney Gidabuday (8:20.28) took the 3000m crown and set a new fieldhouse record in the process. Gidabuday's feat replaced former ASU great Kevin Batt's old Ronald E. Young Center mark of 8:20.40 from 2013. Chandler Reid (8:20.85), Kyle Masterson (8:24.90), and Brian Glassey (8:32.69) placed second, third, and fourth place, respectively, with Jackson Sayler (8:35.20) adding a sixth place mark to give the Grizzlies a total of 32 team points in the 3000m run.

Five Grizzlies placed inside the top eight during the men's mile. Adams State was charged by Austin Anaya's (4:12.65) first place mark with George Kelly (4:13.49) and Oliver Aitchison (4:13.90) close behind for second and third place, respectively. Richard Powell (4:14.22) came in sixth and Paddy Robb (4:16.72) in seventh to increase ASU's production in the event to 29 team points.

Sam Reid led the ASU men in field events with a first place toss of 17.55m in the shot put. Reid's throw also established a fieldhouse record; surpassing Ross Walker's (Dickinson State) distance of 17.53m from 2006. Jonathan Millar (17.07m) and Brecht Van Waes (16.02m) took second and fourth place, respectively.

Micah Ballantyne (6.832) earned a RMAC championship with a win in the 60m dash over teammate Ian Kerr (6.838) who finished in a very close second. Kerr (22.34) later added a fourth place mark in the 200m dash.

A runner-up finish was the case for Wyatt Cunningham (2.02m) in the high jump. Augie Larranaga (50.19) took fourth in the 400m dash and Tom Gifford (1:54.78) took fifth in the 800m run.

The group of Larranaga, Ballantyne, Kerr, and Gifford placed eighth in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:25.85.

For the ASU women, the 3000m and mile run also proved to be a source of solid production. The Grizzlies notched 16 points in the mile paced by Jenna Thurman's (4:50.35) runner-up finish. Roisin Flanagan (5:01.32) and Eilish Flanagan (5:01.57) took fourth and sixth place, respectively. Aden Alemu (10:08.57) led the way in the 3000m with a fourth place mark with Sadie Baker (10:13.91) in sixth, Malena Grover (10:17.25) in seventh, and Kaylee Bogina (10:26.81) in eighth.

Dianna Johnson capped off a stellar weekend with a pair of RMAC titles in the 60m and 200m dash. Johnson clocked a winning time of 7.40 in the 60m and also set a new fieldhouse record. She added a time of 24.82 to win the 200m. Teammate Sunayna Wahi (7.54) placed fourth in the 60m dash.

Jessica Scherrer (56.35) ran to a RMAC title in the 400m dash after placing second in yesterday's preliminary round. After a second place finish in Friday's pentathlon, Serena Canegan (1.59m) posted another runner-up finish in the high jump. Oweneika Watson (8.54) also took second in the 60m hurdles.

Cari Steen (2:17.35) earned sixth place in the 800m run as Kiana Gomez took seventh in the 60m hurdles (8.96) and eighth in the triple jump (10.86m).

The 4x400m relay team of Scherrer, Johnson, Leanne Allen, and Katherine Smith finished third by posting a time of 3:56.12.

The Distance Medley Relay (DMR) team of Roisin Flanagan, Kailie Hartman, Cari Steen, and Jenna Thurman ran to a RMAC Indoor record with a time of 11:45.25 on Day One of the RMAC Indoor Track & Field Championships.

The winning time replaced the previous RMAC record of 11:50.36 set in 2007 by Adams State. Friday's DMR time also established a new fieldhouse record at the Donald E. Young Center.

The DMR efforts led the Adams State women to a third place finish after Day One with a team score of 40. The ASU men sit in second place with a team score of 33.

22 points for the ASU men came from the 5000m run as four Grizzlies placed inside the top eight. Sean Fontana (14:43.92) came away with the win as Kale Adams (14:50.67) took third. Lucio Ramirez (14:54.60) placed fifth and Joshua Joseph (15:05.73) in seventh.

In the women's 5000m run Kaylee Bogina (17:25.32), Malena Grover (17:37.02), and Sadie Baker (18:14.55) finished second, third, and fifth place, respectively.
The unit of Chandler Reid, Jake Littlehales, Oliver Aitchison, and Jackson Sayler ran to a second place mark in the men's DMR. Together the group clocked a time of 10:06.18. The ASU men also gained points in the long jump on Friday as Elijah Brown took sixth with a leap of 6.64m.

In the pentathlon, Serena Canegan placed second with 3,611 points. Canegan took first in the high jump (1.68m), first in the long jump (5.62m), and second in the shot put (11.30m) to highlight her Friday performance. Katherine Smith took fifth with 3,075 points. Smith's day was paced by a pair of third place marks in the 800m run (2:31.78) and 60m hurdles (9.46).

Dianna Johnson highlighted Friday's preliminary action as the sophomore took first overall in the 200m dash at 25.44 and second overall in the 60m dash at 7.44. Sunayna Wahi was also active in the two events. Wahi placed third in the 60m dash prelim at 7.58 and tied for third in the 200m dash prelim at 25.53.

Jessica Scherrer (57.84) ran to a second place mark in the 400m dash prelims to round out top performances from the ASU women on Day One.

In preliminary action for the ASU men, Ian Kerr advanced in the 60m and 200m dash. Kerr took fifth in the 60m dash prelim at 6.91 and seventh in the 200m dash prelim at 22.50. Micah Ballantyne (6.88) also advanced into Saturday's 60m dash final. Augie Larranaga (50.40) took fourth in the 400m dash prelim to advance into Saturday's final.
With a pair of RMAC team titles now in their possession, Adams State now preps for the NCAA Division II Championships on March 10-11 in Birmingham, Alabama.

Photo courtesy Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.