HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State men’s track and field won four events at the Alex Francis Classic (Mar. 31) on Friday. The Tigers finished second as a team. Nebraska-Kearney took home the team title with 452.5 points, followed by FHSU with 430 points. Men’s and women’s team scores were combined to determine an overall champion, but the Tiger men and women were second to UNK in points generated on both sides.
The Tigers were outstanding in the field events with four athletes finishing in the top three in their respective events. TJ Dozier took home first place in the discus throw (163 feet, 8 inches) and followed that with a second place finish in the hammer throw (175 feet, 8 inches). The effort in the discus was good enough for a NCAA provisional qualifying mark, ranking him 13th in the nation on the young outdoor season. Kolt Newell also placed twice with a second place finish in the long jump (21 feet, 5 inches) and a third place leap in the high jump (6 feet, 4.75 inches). Sam Dreiling tied for first and Jake Morrow took third in the pole vault with efforts of 15 feet, 8.5 inches and 14 feet, 8.75 inches respectively.
On the track, the Tigers claimed a pair of first place and second place finishes, as well as three third place finishes. Decano Cronin picked up a title in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:53.12 and teamed up with Dillando Allotey, Brett Meyer and Keith Dryden for a first place finish in the 1600 meter relay with a time of 3:20.75.
Second place finishers for the Tigers were Meyer in the 800 meters (1:53.82), Weston Riner in the 400-meter hurdles (56.28 seconds), Oscar Carmona in the 1500 meters (4:09.12), and Cameron Fouts in the javelin (176 feet, 5 inches). The third place finishers for FHSU were Kaleb Crum in the 5000 meters (15:07.71), Jonathan Penrose in the 110 meter hurdles (15.75 seconds), Derek Bixenman in the javelin (167 feet, 11 inches) and the combination of Allotey, Dryden, Penrose and Kyle Comstock in the 400 meter relay (42.50 seconds).
The Tigers will be back in action next week when they compete at the Friends Invitational, April 7-8, in Wichita, Kan.