Doane's Wolken Collects Third-Straight Heptathlon Crown
March 04, 2016
By Jay Stancil, NAIA Media Coordinator
Photo by Andy McCallister, The Crete News
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – (Complete Results) A pair of three-peat individual champions and a meet record highlight the second day of the NAIA Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field National Championships at the David E. Walker Track at Gentry Field on Thursday.
Kale Wolken of Doane (Neb.) collected his third consecutive national championship in the heptathlon. He finished with a total of 5,396, which is the second-highest point total he produced in his title runs. Lucas Wiechman of Concordia (Neb.) placed second at 5,176 points with Winston Lawson of Vanguard (Calif.) claiming third at 5,009.
Also recording a third-consecutive national championship was Talitha Fagen of Eastern Oregon, who cleared a height of 3.87m (12-08.25) to win the women’s pole vault. She won the titles in 2014 and 2015 by clearing heights of 3.83m (12-06.75) and 3.88m (12-08.75). Taylor Tepper of Bethel (Ind.) and Kaitlyn Moricz of Marian (Ind.) placed second and third, respectively.
In all, a total of 11 championships were decided on Friday. The first two titles to be decided were the women’s and men’s 3000-meter race walk, which were swept by St. Ambrose (Iowa). Jenny Lopez captured St. Ambrose’s first-ever women’s individual championship, winning with a time of 14:47.45 – over 32 seconds faster than second-place Kayla Hunt of Cornerstone (Mich.). Abby Dunn of Goshen (Ind.) took third. In men’s race, Anthony Peters scored the win for St. Ambrose with a time of 12:18.59, nearly two minutes ahead of the rest of the field. Doug Hutcherson of Central Methodist (Mo.) and Bernard Graham of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) rounded out the top three.
In the women’s 4x800 relays, Benedictine (Kan.) used a strong kick during the final leg to record a time of 9:09.37 in claiming the title. St. Francis (Ill.) crossed the line seconds, moments ahead of Aquinas (Mich.). In the men’s 4x800 relay, Friends (Kan.) netted the victory, crossing the line in 7:34.31. Indiana Tech took second in 7:37.08, less than a half-second ahead of third-place Wayland Baptist (Texas).
The women’s weight throw saw the meet record go down. Kasey Renshaw of Siena Heights (Mich.) won with a toss of 21.20m (69-06.75), besting the 2009 mark of 19.79 (64-11.25) set by Aubrey Baxter of Black Hills State (S.D.) in 2009. This is also Renshaw’s second title in a row. Hastings’ Sarah Olsen was second at 18.77m (61-07.0), while Rebecca Cousineau of Siena Heights placed third. In the men’s weight throw, Cody Boellstorff of Concordia (Neb.) claimed the top prize with a throw of 21.26m (69-09.0), while Zebullah Hoffman of Evergreen State (Wash.) and Zachary Lurz of Concordia placed second and third, respectively.
In the women’s long jump, Jonina Brinson earned Mobile’s (Ala.) first-ever women’s individual championship with a leap of 5.77m (18-11.25). Siena Heights’ Madison Pierce was second at 5.66m (18-07.0), while Hastings’ Shantinique Cunningham placed third at 5.65m (18-06.50). In the men’s long jump, Doane’s Kevin Murphy came out on top with a jump of 7.38m (24-02.50) with Indiana Tech’s Keshawn Robinson landing second at 7.35m (24-01.50). Eric England of Eastern Oregon placed third.
In the men’s high jump, Michael Moffitt of Indiana Wesleyan won by clearing a height of 2.16m (7-01.0). Anthony Johnson of Evergreen State and Gerald Richardson of Siena Heights finished second and third.
In addition, semifinals where held in 15 track events to set the stage for Saturday’s finals.
Heading into the final day of competition, the Siena Heights women hold a seven-point lead over Doane. Through six events scored, Siena Heights has tallied 33 total points with Doane picking up 26. Concordia is third with 15. In the men’s field, Doane and Concordia are tied for the top spot with both scoring 30 points through six events. Indiana Tech sits third with 24 points.
The national championships conclude Saturday with the women’s triple jump and women’s shot put kicking off the day at 10 a.m. EST. Championship ceremonies will be held at noon with track finals starting at 12:25 p.m. with the women’s mile. The awards ceremony will be conducted at approximately 5:30 p.m.
All of the national championship action will be video-streamed live on NAIANetwork.com, the NAIA’s official video-streaming platform provided by Stretch Internet. Fans can catch all the action for a subscription fee. For more information, click here.
For more championships information, click here.
Records broken during 2015 NAIA National Championships
• Kasey Renshaw, Siena Heights (Mich.) – Women’s Weight Throw – 21.20m (69-06.75) (Friday) ^
^ NAIA National Championships record
Individuals/Relay Teams to repeat as national champions – men’s history
• Kale Woken, Doane (Neb.) – Heptathlon – 5396 pts.
Individuals/Relay Teams to repeat as national champions – women’s history
• Talitha Fagen, Eastern Oregon – Pole Vault – 3.87m (12-8.25)
• Kasey Renshaw, Siena Heights (Mich.) – Women’s Weight Throw – 21.20m (69-06.75)
Institutions to record first-ever national championships individual title – women’s history
• St. Ambrose (Iowa) – Jenny Lopez – 3000m Race Walk (14:47.45)
• Mobile (Ala.) – Jonina Brinson – Long Jump (5.77m, 18-11.25)
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