Track & Field Teams Off To A Great Start
The Cardinals have earned 54 National qualifying marks in 31 events, including 9 national leaders. Laine Cottrell, Hunter Cary, and Sie'ntez Lerma have earned National Athletes of the Week!
The 2023 NJCAA Track and Field Outdoor season has gotten off to a fantastic start for the Mineral
Area College teams, competing in meets at Missouri S & T on Saturday, March 25th, the Wash U
Distance Carnival on Friday, March 31st, the Central Methodist Invite on March 31st and April 1st,
and finally the McKendree Bearcat classic on Friday, April 7th. With a mixture of good and bad
weather, the Cardinals have performed at a high level, with 54 National qualifying marks in 31
events- 17 marks in 12 events for the Lady Cards and an astounding 37 marks in 19 events for the
MAC men. Those qualifying marks include National leaders in 9 events: Riley Petsch-10,000
meter run; Emma Gerstner- Triple Jump; Sie'ntez Lerma-200 and 400 meter dashes; Bradley
Ahrens-800 and 1500 meter runs; Hunter Cary- Decathlon; the 400 meter relay team of Lerma,
Anthony Treadwell, Dylan Morrison, and Cory Stoll; and finally the 3200 meter relay team of
Ahrens, Grayson Knernschield, Levi Wiegand, and Lucas Smith. National honors achieved by the
Cardinal teams include NJCAA Division III Track & Field "Athlete of the Week '' for Laine Cottrell
after Week 1, Hunter Cary after Week 2, and Sie'ntez Lerma after this past weekend. The men also
had a high enough point total to finish in first place overall at the McKendree Meet. The latest
NJCAA Division III National polls have the MAC Men ranked 1st, with the Lady Cardinals sitting in
2nd.
The National meet will take place in Utica, New York on May 11th-13th. There are only a couple of
meets left for some other Mineral Area T&F athletes to hit the qualifying marks in their events,
including this upcoming Saturday, at the Greenville Select Meet in Greenville, Illinois. Come on
Cardinals, let's close this 2022-2023 school year out with a bang!
Complete results for the MAC teams for the Outdoor season are at the links below:
https://www.tfrrs.org/results/78110/Miner_Invitational
https://www.tfrrs.org/results/79181/2023_CMU_Invite
https://www.tfrrs.org/results/79187/Wash_U_Distance_Carnival_Friday_Night