Neil Sets Program’s 600-Yard Record at Bearcat Invite
JOPLIN/MARYVILLE, Mo. - The Baker track and field teams competed in another split trip this past weekend, participating at a pair of meets hosted by MIAA schools, in Missouri Southern's Lion Open and Northwest Missouri State's Bearcat Invite.
In Maryville, Mo., on Saturday, sophomore runner Kemaro Neil broke the school record in the 600-yard run, clocking a time of 1:12.09 to place fourth overall in the event. Neil's mark breaks the previous record set by former Wildcat Tyler Randall in 2016. Additionally, his converted time (1:20.74) just missed out on the NAIA 'B' standard (1:20.53) by a few ticks.
Cutter Meade continued his solid indoor campaign by setting two personal records at the Northwest meet, running a 2:32.54 in the men's 1K, which placed him 13th overall, and a 1:58.12 in the 800m. Currently, both times rank in the top-12 in the conference, with his 1K time sitting eighth-best among Heart distance runners.
Natalie Kennedy turned in a top-20 finish in the women's 1K, placing 19th on a time of 3:13.06. Like his teammate Neil, Rodree Robinson improved on his 600y time from last week's Pitt State Invite and went 1:13.68 on Saturday to finish in 12th.
Ellie Barnard (19:38.28) and Haley Carter (19:52.33) finished in back-to-back spots in the women's 5K, with Barnard taking 16th and Carter following right behind in 17th.
Trot Wood clocked his fastest one-lap time since the first meet of the season, recording a 50.13 to place 29th in the men's 400m.
Down in Joplin, Haylei Potter's runner-up finish in the women's 400m and personal record in the pole vault highlighted the trip for BU.
Potter legged out a 1:01.53 in the 400m to take second among a field of 17 runners. She added a ninth-place showing in the pole vault after increasing her personal-best clearance to 3.08 meters.
Jailah Robinson posted a couple of top-15 finishes in the sprints after placing 13th in the 200m (29.08) and 14th in the 60m (8.57). Meanwhile, Eithan Kodger came away with a pair of 13th-place finishes in the 60-meter hurdles (9.56) and 400m (54.50).
In the field events, Julie Coffey matched her career best mark in the weight throw with a distance of 12.45 meters, which is the exact same as her throw from the Washburn Open last week. She added her best mark of the season in the shot put, going 10.75 meters to place 11th in the event.
Baker will head to its final regular-season indoor meet next weekend, traveling down the road to compete in the Ichabod Invite, hosted by Washburn, on Feb. 13-14, in Topeka, Kan. Events begin at 2 p.m. on Friday and conclude with final-day action on Saturday at 10 a.m.
#BakerBuildsChampions