TOPEKA, Kan. The Tabor men's indoor track team began their second semester at the Washburn Rust Buster on Saturday, Jan. 20 in a meet that featured 20 teams.
Junior Vance Shewey put together an incredible A-standard performance in the high jump (6-11.50), taking first place and fourth best jump in the NAIA so far this indoor season. The jump surpassed the school record he set earlier this year (6-08.75), as well as the same meet last season.
In the long jump, Shewey (23-02.50) had a B-standard leap that earned him eighth place. The jump also marked a new school record for Tabor, previously held by Aaron Jenkins (22-02.25) in 2006.
"Vance Shewey obviously had an exceptional day, breaking school records in the HJ as well as the long jump. He is currently ranked #4 in the NAIA in that event. This follows 6 weeks away from competing and shows the hard work that he put in on his own during Christmas break. His LJ PR bested the old school record by over a foot," Head Coach David Kroeker said.
The shot put produced three top-40 placers, with junior Joshua Garcia (38-02.25) taking 30th, sophomore Chase Nash (36-08.25) taking 36th and freshman Caleb Wehrman (36-05.00) taking 37th. Wehrman also took 23rd in the pole vault (11-11.75). Nash (43-01.75) also placed 26th in the weight throw. Senior Ali Cannon (20-10.00) also took 23rd in the long jump.
Tabor had a strong showing in the mile, with five runners finishing in the top 60. Junior Dillon Callaway (4:26.10) finished in 18th, sophomore Ryan Stade (4:26.10) finished in 20th, senior Jerah Schmidt (4:38.03) finished in 46th, junior Nicholas Green (4:42.64) finished in 58th and junior Matt Veloz (4:43.05) finished in 59th.
The Bluejays performed well in the 3000m with 5 runners in the top 60, as Stade (8:38.69) led the way with a tenth place finish, falling just short of the B-standard. Junior Logan Dybowski (9:13.67) placed 38th, Veloz (9:26.09) placed 48th, senior Ryan Villarreal (9:33.77) placed 52nd and Schmidt (9:39.53) placed 59th.
"Our men ran really well for where we are in training. The first meet is used to see where we're at coming off Christmas break. We are ahead of where we were at this point last year which is really encouraging, especially considering the weather we've had since being back on campus," Distance Coach Rylan Hincher said.
In the 800m, Callaway (1:58.23) took 16th, freshman Darren Klukas (2:02.72) took 41st and Green (2:03.80) finished right behind him at 42nd. In the 400m, freshman Taegen Gallagher (52.20) took 35th place, senior Nick Montoya (55.27) took 54th and Brokar (1:03.08) took 58th. Gallagher (23.55) also took 58th in the 200m.
Cannon (7.33) placed 44th and Wehrman (7.48) placed 60th in the 60m. Wehrman (9.50) placed 35th in the 60m hurdles and freshman Trevor Brokar (9.62) also placed 37th in the event.
"I thought Taegen Gallagher ran really well in the open 400. Also, Caleb Wehrman had a very positive day in the pole vault and the 60m hurdles," Kroeker said.
The Bluejays will travel to Wichita to participate in the Herm Wilson Invite on Friday, Jan. 26 and Saturday, Jan. 27 next week.
Tabor College is a Christ-centered institution located in Hillsboro, Kansas. The Bluejays are members of the NAIA and compete in the KCAC.
