Sophomore Keaton Wattier broke the indoor school record in the 60-meter hurdles as the Wayne State College men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at the Mark Schuck Open in Mankato, Minn.
Wattier’s 60-meter hurdle race saw him finish with a time of 8.19 seconds, breaking Matt Kneifl’s old school record, previously set on March 3, 2001, with a time of 8.2 seconds. Wattier qualified for finals, where he finished with a time of 8.21 seconds to place fourth in the event.
Wattier helped lead the men’s side to a second-place finish with 114 team points, finishing just behind the host team, Minnesota State-Mankato, who ran away with the competition. Other top male performers included senior Dylan Kneifl, who finished first in the high jump with a mark of 6’7” and junior Logan Moeller placed first in the long jump after a 22’ 3 3/4” performance. Moeller also finished third in the triple jump, with a finish of 44’ 11”.
Other Wildcat performers included some second-place finishes from sophomore Quentin Dreyer in the 1,000-meter run and sophomore Mitchell Rudie in the 500-meter run. Dreyer also had a third place finish the one miles run, with senior Debonaire Williams also finishing with a third-place finish in the heptathlon. Williams also hit his provisional mark to qualify him for nationals.
“I felt amazing,” Williams said. “I got hurt during the meet and coach had to take me out of one of my events, which I wasn’t happy about but I’m glad he took me out. However, in spite of all that I’m still really happy about hitting my provisional mark and being able to finish the meet.”
Junior Alex Brandt and sophomore Jarrett McQueen also competed in the heptathlon, finishing right behind their teammate at fourth and fifth respectively. Sophomore Daylin Mallory placing fourth in the shot put with a distance of 50’ 6” and junior braden Johnson finished fifth in the long jump with a distance of 20’ 4 ½” for two more top five finishes. The Wildcat medley relay team consisting of Dreyer, senior Gabe Peitz, sophomore Austin Madsen and junior Andrew Wylie finished first as a team with a time of 10:43.72 and the 4×400 meter relay team of Madsen, Rudie, sophomore Alex Leuenberger and junior Wyatt Nissen finished second with a time of 3:28.86.
The Wildcat women’s team finished with a third-place finish with a team total of 69 points, following behind the host team Mavericks and Sioux Falls.
Freshman Callie Kirchner had the highest induvial placement of any Wildcat women, finishing third in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 11:19.06. Two of her teammates followed closely behind at fourth and fifth, being sophomores Madeline Kunz and Sydney Escritt.
The Wildcats had a plethora of other top five finishes. Junior Maya Couch placed fourth in the 200-meter dash with a 26.24 second finish. Sophomore Olivia Schwarzrock placed fourth in the weight throw with a distance of 54’ 1 ¼” and junior Hailey Baker placed fifth in the shot put with a mark of 39’ 5 ¼”. Senior Emily Smollen finish fifth in the long jump, sophomore Anna Coffee finished fifth in the pentathlon and sophomore Jozlyn Barnes finished fifth in the 800-meter run.
The women’s relay teams also came away with top three finishes. The 4×400 meter team of Barnes, graduate senior Kylie Pachta, senior Faith Polacek, and senior Sarah Cotton finished second with a time of 4:15.34 and the medley relay team if Pachta, Barnes, Polacek and senior Alison Stineman finishes third with a time of 13:00.78.
The Wildcats will be back in Mankato for both indoor and outdoor conference finals later this season. The next meet on Friday, Feb. 2 and Saturday, Feb. 3 will be in Maryville, Mo. at the Bearcat Classic on the campus of Northwest Missouri State University.
