EMPORIA, Kan. - The Grizzlies continued to compete at the 2024 Outdoor Track Nationals in Emporia Kansas, and at the end of the three days, the women scored 72 points which resulted in a second-place finish behind the champions of the meet, Pitt State.
Day 1
The Grizzlies Track & Field Team started off strong at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Thursday .
The night began with the Women’s 1500m prelims where Gracie Hyde, Elena Carey , Maggie McClesky and Vienna Lahner all competed in the event. Gracie auto qualified by running a 4:35.79 and Elena also auto qualified with a time of 4:31.02 . Vienna who ran a 4:31.84 qualified by time.
Women’s Steeple was up next and was well represented by the Grizzlies. Ava O’Connor, Emily Schoellkopf , Gracie Hyde and Morgan Hykes were all representing the highlighter green in the event. From that, three Grizzlies made the finals. Ava auto qualified with a time of 10:30.86, Gracie auto qualified with a time of 10:39.95 and Morgan qualified with a 10:40.98 time.
Victoria Amiadamen ran the 400meter Hurdles and ran a 59.54 which was good for the 7th best time for finals.
As the 10k was about to start, all the athletes and spectators were asked to leave the track due to lightning in the area. After the delay, Dayton Brown took his mark at the start of the 10k under the lights. After an impressive race, Dayton finished 9th overall.
The last event of the say was the women’s 10k and both Brianna Robles and Precious Robinson made their way to the starting line. After a long battle, Bri finished 3rd, and received All American status, with a time of 34:22.00, while Precious finished 15th with a time of 36:41.62.
Day 2
The day started with the 800-meter run where three Grizzlies represented in the event. Jessica Simon, Lieke Hoogsteen and Nicole Lawrence. Simon and Hoogsteen secured their spots in the finals by finishing first and second in each of their heats. Lawrence competed and ended 19th overall in the event.
Next up was the 3000m Steeplechase where Gracie Hyde continued to dominate and shattered both the meet record and the facility record with a blazing time of 9:36.95. Teammate Ava O’Connor was not far behind and secured second place in the event by running a 10:08.07. Morgan Hykes gave it everything and finished 10th overall. With that, the Grizzlies secured 18 points in this event.
The day ended once again under the lights for the women’s 4x400. The school record breaking team of Alese Sartain, Isila Apkup, Jessica Simon & Victoria Amiadamen made their way to the track. After three fast heats, the team was unable to secure a spot in the finals and ended up 13th overall in the event.
Day 3
Day 3 included huge performances and finishes from the Grizzly Track & Field team. Gracie Hyde continued her success by securing another National title and securing a facility record in the 1500m run by running a 4:16.80. Elena Cary and Vienna Lahner were not far behind and all three Grizzlies made it to the podium. Cary securing 4th place and Lahner securing 7th. The finishes put another 17 points on the board for the Grizzlies.
Next up for the team, was the women’s 800m. A tight race through both laps that resulted in Jessica Simon finishing second overall. Simon was .07 seconds behind the first-place finisher of the even from Tiffin. Teammate Lieke Hoogsteen was not far behind and came through the finish line with a 2:10.03 mark and secured the 4th place spot. The two women dominated here and secured another 13 points for the Grizzly squad.
Under the heat of the sun came the heat of the 400m hurdles and Victoria Amiadamen was ready for the challenge. A great start and strong finish from Amiadamen allowed her to cross the finish line with the 5th best time and scored another 4 points to the total tally.
The last event of the day for the Grizzly squad was the much anticipated 5k. Romain Legendre, who is no stranger to the event took the starting line. A tight pack initially turned into a stretched-out field and Legendre could not be stopped. He took off and crossed the finish line with a time of 14:36.13 and at that moment, became a National Champion.
Five Grizzlies took the line for the start of the women’s 5k. Brianna Robles, Maggie McCleskey, Tristian Spence, Morgan Hykes & Emily Schoellkopf. Robles led the way in an intense and competitive field. The pack was tight and fierce and as a result, Hykes and Spence had to exit the race. Schoellkopf came in 19th overall and Robles secured the second-place spot with a time of 16:37.66. Teammate Maggie McCleskey was not far behind as she edged two other runners by .27 seconds and .33 seconds. The race for third place could not have been any tighter and the Grizzlies prevailed and secured another 14 points.
Although the Grizzlies scored 72 points as a team, it was not enough to surpass Pitt State and their 100 points. This was the most points scored in an outdoor National event in almost 20 years.
As the Track and Field Season ends, the success of the Adams State University Track and Field/Cross Country team cannot go unnoticed. Securing two runner up finishes in both Cross Country and Outdoor Track and Field and a National Championship, there is no doubt the future is bright.
