Emporia State Track & Field
hosts
ESU Spring Open
Witten Track at Welch Stadium • Emporia, Kan.
Friday, March 16, 2018
Field Events at 12:00 p.m. • Track Events at 1:00 p.m.
Live Results: Black Squirrel Timing (https://trackmeet.io/meets/768)
Complete Notes in pdf • Heat Sheets • Revised Schedule
Up Next: ESU Relays
Saturday, March 31, 2018 • Witten Track at Welch Stadium • Emporia, Kan.

OPENING OUTSIDE
The Emporia State track and field teams will make their 2018 outdoor debut at the ESU Spring Open on the Golden Oval of Witten Track at Welch Stadium. They will be joined by nearly 800 student-athletes from 23 different schools in the one day meet.

LAST TIME OUT
The Emporia State men produced a total of seven All-American honors and placed 15th in the team standings at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field National Championships. Taysean Goodwin led the Hornets, scoring 10.5 points. He placed second in the 400m finals with a time of 47.15 after running a school record 46.83 in the prelims.  He then ran a 21.58 to place eighth in the 200m before anchoring the men's 4x400m relay to a time of 3:11.57 to place third. He was joined on the relay team by Parker Evans, Luke Stenzel and Wyatt Sander. Thomas LaRoche earned his second straight indoor All-American honor with an eighth place finish in the 800m.
The last action for the Emporia State women was at the MIAA Indoor Championships. They had four provisional marks as they placed 13th overall. Elizabeth Blevins finished third with a time of 1:25.09 in the 600y run. Jazmin Williams had a provisional qualifying leap of 18-09.25 (5.72m) to place fourth in the long jump.  The two of them joined Kelsey Graber and Kacee Mayfield to run 3:55.66 and place sixth in the 4x400m relay. Lati Yeargin had a provisional qualifying mark of 7.67 to finish seventh in the 60m dash on Sunday after running 7.66 in the prelims. Iva Shepherd had a provisional qualifier in the pole vault as she cleared 11-10.00 (3.61m) to improve on her own third place ranking on the Emporia State all-time list.

THE COACH
Steven Blocker is in his seventh year as the head coach for the Emporia State track and field/cross country programs. He served as an assistant with the Hornets beginning in 2009 working primarily with the sprinters, jumpers and multi-event athletes. He has produced 59 All-Americans and 25 MIAA Champions in his first six years as head coach after coaching 14 All-Americans, six MIAA Champions and an NCAA Division II National Champion as an assistant for the Hornets.

LAST YEAR'S ESU SPRING OPEN
The Emporia State women's track and field team picked up four provisional qualifiers in their first outdoor action of the season as they played host to the ESU Spring Invitational on St. Patrick's Day. The Hornet men finished fourth and the women fifth in the team standings with nearly 20 teams represented on both sides.  It was the first official track meet on the Golden Oval of Witten Track in Welch Stadium.
Jazmin Williams was the highlight of the meet for the Hornets as she won the women's long jump with a provisional qualifying mark of 19-06.00 (5.94m) that ranks fifth all-time at Emporia State. She was in second place until she unleashed the big jump on her final attempt.  
Morgan Gilliland was second in the women's shot put at 45-10.75 (13.99m) to hit the provisional mark.
Iva Shepherd moved into a tie for second with Alaina Fairbanks on the Emporia State all-time list in the pole vault. She cleared 11-11.75 (3.65m) to place fifth in the event.
Elizabeth Costello was the other provisional qualifier for the Hornet women. She threw 138-06 (42.23m) to place fifth in the javelin.
Both the Emporia State women's 4x100m and 4x400m relays placed third in the meet.
The Hornet men held most of their athletes that competed at the NCAA Indoor National Championships and placed 18th, out of the first meet.
Jared Reinke finished second in the 800m while Brian Newkirk was second in the 5000m.  Emporia State got third place finishes from Jordan Reed in the 100m and Gabe Sams in the 5000m.
There were a total of 61 NCAA Division II Provisional Qualifying marks in this first meet of the outdoor season.  The newly resurfaced javelin runway just northeast of Welch Stadium produced 14 provisional qualifiers, six for the women and eight for the men.

UP NEXT
Emporia State will take spring break off before returning to the Golden Oval of Witten Track at Welch Stadium for the ESU Relays on March 31. The ESU Relays is traditionally one of the largest single day track and field meets in the state of Kansas.

2018 ESU Spring Open
Schedule of Events
FIELD EVENTS
12:00 pm    Hammer    W,M    North Cage
12:00 pm    Javelin    M,W
12:00 pm    Discus    M,W    South Cage
12:00 pm    Long Jump    W    East Runway
12:00 pm    Long Jump    M    West Runway
12:00 pm    Pole Vault    M,W
  1:00 pm    High Jump    W,M    South Pit
  3:00 pm    Triple Jump    M,W    West Runway
  4:00 pm    Shot Put    W     East Ring                M    West Ring
RUNNING EVENTS            
Finals
1:00 pm    3000 Steeplechase    M,W    
1:35 pm    4x100m Relay    W,M
1:50 pm    1500m    W
    Archie San Romani 1500m    M
2:10 pm    100m/110m Hurdles    W,M
2:25 pm    400m    W,M
2:50 pm    100m    W,M
3:00 pm    800m    W
    Bill Tidwell 800m    M
3:15 pm    400m Hurdles    W,M
3:30 pm    200m    W,M
3:50 pm    5000m    W,M
4:35 pm    4x400m Relay    W
    Charles Wilhite 4x400m Relay    M