Wichita, Kan.—The Spires had one heck of a first day at the KCAC Indoor Championship in Wichita, Kansas on the campus of Wichita State University. With a handful of Spire athletes claiming top finishes, day two promises to be an equally as thrilling day for the highly skilled USM squad.

Freshman phenom Tyler Holmes started his team out with a bang in the long jump when in his very first collegiate meet he not only broke the school record, but also broke the all-time meet record and claimed his rightful spot of KCAC Champion with a final jump of 7.26m (23-9.75). With this leap and subsequent first place finish Holmes earned his team ten points in the first event of the day. Freshman teammate Tristan Rogers also placed in the top ten in LJ, leaping 6.74m (22-1.25) for 10^th place overall, setting the tone for what was to come in day one.

The USM women made their presence known in the long jump as well. Spire teammates Jordyn Miller-Knuckles and Haley Sampson placed in the top eight overall, adding to the Spire's overall tally. Miller-Knuckles battled and earned 4^th place overall with a final leap of 5.40m and earning her team five points. Sampson finished 6^th overall, earning three points with a final distance of 5.36m.
Reed Lynn and Justin Johnston represented well in the men's pole vault finishing neck and neck at 6^th and 7^th place, respectively. The freshman Lynn vaulted 4.00 for his highest mark of the day, finishing just behind Bey of Friends University, and earning an additional three points towards the team total. Johnston finished right behind his teammate with his highest mark reaching 3.70m and earning two points for USM.

In the final field event of day one, Nolan Norberto dominated the men's shot put and earning 2^nd place overall at the conference meet. Norberto threw a final mark of 15.51m, setting a new indoor personal best for the sophomore. Fellow Spire Jeremey Shreve finished 10^th overall in the shot put, with a final mark of 13.79, just beating USM teammate Robert Hennig who finished 12^th overall with his longest throw landing at 13.24m.

With another personal best set, freshman Emily Struckman fought fiercely in her first collegiate post-season. Emily finished 3^rd overall with a final toss of 12.27m, breaking her own school record and contributing six points to her teams overall total.  

 In the first running events of day one, Jordyn Miller-Knuckles finished tough, sprinting to a 3^rd place finish with a final time of 9.02. Just behind her was Hope Crabtree snagging a 5^th place finish overall with a final time of 9.22.

The freshmen continue to put on a show as Omarion Udell claims the #1 spot in the men's 60m hurdles with a speedy finish of 8.39, just .02 seconds away from his personal best of 8.37 seconds which he earned at the Washburn Open just a few weeks ago.

Following Udell up were two more Spire freshmen. In 5^th place overall was Blaize Vaugh who recorded a final time of 8.63 seconds in his first year of collegiate competition. EJ Dennis would round out the top ten athletes finishing 9^th overall with a final run of 8.82 seconds.

In the women's 60m prelims, senior Deslyne Cooper battled to the finish with a prelim time of 7.75, finishing just in front of teammates Keiyah Cole and Haley Sampson. Cole and Sampson tied for in 7^th place overall with a time of 7.80 each to advance to the finals tomorrow.

Noah Arndt in the men's 60m prelims secured his advancement to the final heat on Saturday, tying for 4^th place overall with a 6.96 finish.

Josie Tyrrell in the women's 5000m run claimed her rightful place at #1 overall. The senior had a final finish of 18:16.69, showcasing why she's currently #1 in all of KCAC and top 15 in the NAIA. Serenity Larson and Ava Klaassen rounded out the top five with Larson finishing 4^th overall and a final time of 1:01.93 and Klaassen snagged 5^th place with a final time of 19:03.01.

USM men represented extremely well in the men's 5000-meter run. Kenneth Howell, Prince Ntozo, and Derebee Carr finished in 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th place, respectively. The Spire trio came up big time with Howell producing a final time of 15:08.75, Ntozo with a final time of 15:10.01, and Carr posting a 15:11.56 final.

The women's 4x800 relay team consisting of athletes Abigail White, Liv Lohf, Katie Cameron, and Carly Holadia totaled eight team points when they raced to a strong 2^nd place finish this evening. The relay fought to the very end with a final time of 9:44.75, trailing only behind the Coyotes of KWU.

On the men's side, the 4x800 team consisting of Jacson Cruse, Owen Dierenfeldt, Lukas Hein, and Austin Howell earned 4^th place overall in the highly competitive race, with a final time of 7:59.38 in Wichita.

Familiar faces Deslyne Cooper and Keiyah Cole posted top five times in the prelims of the women's 200-meters, the final women's running event of the evening. Cooper finished with a time of 25.51 in 4^th place with Cole close behind in 5^th place with a time of 26.01, both advancing on to the final heat on Saturday.

Three Spire men's athletes qualified for Saturday in the men's 200-meter race, wrapping up day one in Wichita. The charge was led by yet another freshman in Daniel Craig as he took 1^st overall with a qualifying time of 22.35. Tristian Rogers flew through in 7^th place overall with a time of 22.65 and Karlos Humphreys taking the final qualifying spot in 8^th place mere milliseconds behind Rogers at a time of 22.66 seconds.

The USM athletes will rest well tonight and prepare for even more action tomorrow morning. First up is Nolan Norberto, Robert Hennig and Jeremy Shreve and Martina Menees, Emily Murphy and Emily Struckman in the men's and women's weight throw with the men set to start at 9:45 a.m. and women to follow at 11:15 a.m.

After day one your Spire women lead the conference and currently sit in 1^st place with 41 total team points, while the men sit in 2^nd place with 48 team points, just 8 points behind Friends University.

Don't miss a second of the action as your Spires continue to rack up personal bests, school records, and top marks by following along with Heartland Timing.