WARRENSBURG, MO – The No. 11-rated Indian Hills women's track and field squad notched their highest finish in school history over the weekend as the Warriors placed third at the Region XI Indoor Championships, which took place at the Multipurpose Building on the campus of the University of Central Missouri.
In the sixth year of the program, IHCC placed third at the regional event, finishing behind No.2-rated Iowa Central and No. 4 Iowa Western.
"Tying for third place at the regional meet is a big accomplishment for our women," said IHCC Head Coach Brent Ewing. "Our region is one of the best in the nation, and to see our competitors get third behind a couple of the top teams in the country was rewarding to see."
While IHCC was unable to collect first place in any particular event, the Warriors did nab the runner-up spot in the triple jump with Ciara Corley, the 400 meters with Kylar Brown, as well as the 4x400 relay team of Melanie Hall, Temira Goods, Brown and Kahliyah Anderson.
"Ciara had a very busy day with three jump events," noted Ewing. "She stepped up big time and broke the school record in the triple jump (11.22 meters) that she previously set the week prior. That puts her tenth in the country in that event."
Corley also collected a third place finish in the high jump with a leap of 1.55 meters, joining teammate Siby Yao, who also grabbed bronze in both the long jump (5.24 meters) and the triple jump (11.11 meters).
Ewing noted that it was gratifying to see sprinter Janyla Hoskins get over the hump in the 60 meter event after several near-misses with the national qualifying mark. Not only did Hoskins qualify for nationals, but she set the school record with a fifth place finish.
"When I recruited Janyla last year, I knew she was someone who had the potential to be one of the best 60 meter runners we've ever had at Indian Hills," Ewing said. "Twice this year she had ran .01 seconds from the qualifying mark. It came down to her last chance to qualify, and she made it happen. She did a great job of performing under pressure."
The Warrior headman also had praise for freshman sprinter, Kimeisha Star, who ran two personal bests on Saturday.
"Kimeisha has really flown under the radar," Ewing added. "She had two huge races at the regional meet in both the 60 and 200 meters. She is the most improved athlete on our women's team. She's gone from running the 60 in 8.3 seconds in high school to 8.13 in college. She's also ran a full two seconds faster than a year ago in the 200 meter (26.88 seconds). That's unheard of."
The Warriors are positioned for a promising finish in the 4x400 event at the national meet and Saturday's results in the open 400 event did nothing to quash that anticipation. In addition to Brown's second place finish of 59.31, IHCC also took home fourth and sixth place in the quarter mile with Goods' clocking of 59.73 and Hall's 100.58.
"All three of those women ran times on Central Missouri's 200 meter track that convert to personal bests," Ewing noted. "Their performances in their 400s make me excited to see what our 4x400 relay can do at nationals."
The NJCAA Indoor Nationals are Friday and Saturday, March 5-6 at Pittsburg, Kansas.
WARRIOR RESULTS:
Janyla Hoskins: 60m (5th, 7.73, school record, national qualifier), 200m (7th, 26.13)
Ciara Corley: triple jump (2nd, 11.22m, school record), high jump (3rd, 1.55m), long jump (6th, 4.96m)
Siby Yao: long jump (3rd, 5.24m), triple jump (3rd, 11.11m)
Kahliyah Anderson: high jump (4th, 1.55m), 200m (5th, 25.84)
Kylar Brown: 400m (2nd, 59.31), triple jump (4th, 10.82)
Temira Goods: 400m (4th, 59.73)
Melanie Hall: 400m (6th, 1:00.58)
Aimaya Drummond: 200m (6th, 26.10)
Dasauna Combs: 200m (8th, 26.51), 60m (7th, 7.85)
Lauren Upmeyer: shot put (5th, 10.67m)
Erionna Hamilton: shot put (8th, 10.03m)
Women's 4x4: 2nd, 3:57.74
TEAM STANDINGS:
- Iowa Western 234
- Iowa Central 83
- Indian Hills 65
- Hawkeye 65
- NIACC 18
- Southwestern 5
- Southeastern 2
Full Results: https://www.tfrrs.org/results/67633/Region_XI_Championships/