DES MOINES, Iowa – Three Bulldogs represented the Concordia University track and field program amidst cloudy and cool conditions on Saturday at the annual Drake Relays. Seniors Kattie Cleveland, Liz King and Josh Slechta each tried their hand in the hammer throw as three of nine Bulldog athletes to perform since Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa.
The NAIA national leader in the hammer, Slechta placed 10th out of 25 competitors at the Drake Relays by again easily outgunning the automatic national qualifying mark with his toss of 192’ 5.” His throw of 210’ 10” at the Concordia Invite on April 9 stands as a school record.
In the women’s hammer, contested in the morning on Saturday, Cleveland turned in a mark of 159’ 8,” positioning her 22nd out of 26 throwers in a loaded field. It was significantly shorter than her personal best of 181’ 9,” which ranks fourth on the NAIA national leaderboard and fifth on Concordia’s all-time list. On the other hand, King did not register a mark in three attempts in the hammer.
Slechta now owns two outdoor throwing records after tossing the discus 179’ 9” at the Nebraska Wesleyan Spring Invitational on Thursday. One of the biggest highlights of the weekend from a running perspective was delivered by Kim Wood at the Drake Relays. She clocked in at 2:10.56 in the 800 meters, giving her two individual automatic national qualifying times this outdoor season. Wood holds the school’s outdoor 800 meter record but still seeks the 1,500 meter standard owned by Molly Engel (4:33.98).
The Bulldogs now gear up for the GPAC championships next Friday and Saturday (May 6-7) at Hastings. Concordia is coming off of second- (women) and third- (men) place finishes at the 2016 GPAC indoor meet. Based on this week’s USTFCCCA national ratings, the Bulldogs rank first in the GPAC on the men’s side and second on the women’s side. View the conference championship event schedule HERE.