FAYETTE, Mo. – The Mount Mercy Track and Field Teams competed at the Heart of America Outdoor Conference Championships this past Friday and Saturday. Amongst steep competition, the women finished in fourth place and men in sixth of 12 teams. Both team finishes were improved from last year's performances.

The Mustangs claimed a total of five individual conference titles as well as many all-conference finishes. All-conference teams were awarded based off individual finishes as follows, first place (first team), second place (second team), third place (third team), and fourth, fifth, and sixth place (honorable mention). Colton Forster (SR/Marion, Iowa) snagged an individual title in the 10000 Meters (31:54.27). On the women's side, Kathryn Vander Poel (SR/Bakersfield, Calif.) won an individual title in the 1500 Meters with a personal best time of 4:46.21, while Vanessa Cortes (JR/Bakersfield, Calif.) walked away with two first place medals in the 5000 Meters (18:39.08) and 10000 Meters (38:56.67). Jasmine Wardell (JR/Marion, Iowa) crushed her personal best and the school record in Shot Put with a mark of 13.01m to be crowned a conference champion.

Other notable performances included Luke Nickelson (JR/Nipomo, Calif)'s fifth place finish in the Long Jump with a personal best mark of 7.12m. This performance qualified for the NAIA National Outdoor Track and Field Championships with the "B" Standard and broke the previous school record already held by Nickelson. School records were also broken by the 4x100 Relay of August Stamp (SR/Colona, Ill.), Connor Christophersen (JR/Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Josh Harmon (SO/Flagstaff, Ariz.), and Souleymane Diallo (SR/Washington, D.C.), as well as the 4x400 Relay of Diallo, Christophersen, Michael Marshall (SR/Center Point, Iowa), and Hunter Filloon (SO/Toledo, Iowa).

Top 10 Finishes (Men)
Christophersen – 100 Meters – Ninth Place (11.08)
Christophersen – 200 Meters – Sixth Place (22.61)
Christophersen – 400 Meters – Fifth Place (50.41)
Diallo – 400 Meters – Seventh Place (50.55)
James Lindstrom (SR/Apple Valley, Calif.) – 1500 Meters – Second Place (4:04.08)
Cameron Steffens (SO/Cedar Rapids, Iowa) – 1500 Meters – Eighth Place (4:12.49)
Forster – 5000 Meters – Second Place (15:34.72)
Lindstrom – 5000 Meters – Fifth Place (15:40.48)
Sayed Opeyany (JR/Concord, Calif.) – 10000 Meters – Eighth Place (34:05.10)
Jon Andersen (SR/Cedar Rapids, Iowa) – 5000 Race Walk – Second Place (25:09.98)
Jasper Severn (JR/Arcata, Calif.) – 3000 Steeplechase – Eighth Place (10:12.38)
Stamp, Christophersen, Harmon, Diallo – 4x100 Relay – Seventh Place (42.79)
Diallo, Christophersen, Marshall, Filloon – 4x400 Relay – Sixth Place (3:24.53)
Lindstrom, Marshall, Steffens, Jacob Blackmon (JR/Bakersfield, Calif.) – 4x800 Relay – Fourth Place (7:55.46)
Nickelson – High Jump – Fourth Place (1.92m)
Nickelson – Triple Jump – Seventh Place (13.89m)

Top 10 Finishes (Women)
Sophie Feahn (FR/Cedar Rapids, Iowa) – 100 Meters – Eighth Place (12.83)
Vander Poel – 800 Meters – Second Place (2:19.37)
Mady Roth (JR/Bakersfield, Calif.) – 800 Meters – Eighth Place (2:28.89)
Andrea Ertz (JR/Central City, Iowa) – 1500 Meters – Third Place (4:54.35)
Alexa Zamora (SR/Apple Valley, Calif.) – 5000 Meters – Third Place (19:19.08)
Emily Erickson (FR/West Des Moines, Iowa) – 5000 Meters – 10th Place (20:07.75)
Zamora – 10000 Meters – Fifth Place (40:20.21)
Lauren Thome (SR/Waterloo, Iowa) – 5000 Race  Walk – Ninth Place (42:38.34)
McKenna Johnson (SO/Asbury, Iowa) – 3000 Steeplechase – Fourth Place (12:01.56)
Feahn, Rachel Gadient (JR/Anamosa, Iowa), Brie Fuller (FR/Fairfax, Iowa), Angela Willoughby (FR/Altoona, Iowa) – 4x100 Relay – Seventh Place (51.08)
Gadient, Vander Poel, A. Ertz, Johnson – 4x400 Relay – Fourth Place (4:08.51)
Vander Poel, A. Ertz, Johnson, Roth – 4x800 Relay – Second Place (9:38.58)
Gadient – High Jump – Fourth Place (1.54m)
Lauren Willson (SO/Walker, Iowa) – Shot Put – 10th Place (11.21m)
Wardell – Hammer – Fourth Place (43.20m)
Willson – Hammer – 10th Place (39.59m)
Gadient – Javelin – Eighth Place (30.62m)
Karley Jaynes (SR/Urbana, Iowa) – Javelin – 10th Place (29.20m)
Jaynes – Heptathlon – Fifth Place (2461)

Up next, the Mustangs will travel to Naperville, Ill. to compete in the Dr. Keeler Invite on Friday, May 10 with one last chance to qualify for the NAIA National Outdoor Track and Field Championships.