Women's Track & Field

FOUR SCHOOL RECORDS FALL AT BEARCAT OPEN

FOUR SCHOOL RECORDS FALL AT BEARCAT OPEN
Posted: Feb 07, 2022

Maryville, MO – The No. 6 nationally ranked Indian Hills Women's Track & Field program set 15 top-20 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) marks over the weekend, including four school records at the Bearcat Open hosted by Northwest Missouri State University.

The Warriors have continued to set a new standard each week of competition throughout the early stages of the indoor season, and the two-day event in Maryville was no different.

"Our women's program has improved dramatically in the past year," stated head coach Brent Ewing. "For the first time, we have multiple athletes who are national title contenders. These are young women that are paving the way for our program. Individuals whose records could stand for quite some time."

Sophomore Kayla McCray (Miami, FL/North Miami) eclipsed her own 60-meter dash school record with a time of 7.55 in the finals. McCray dropped 0.14 seconds from her prelim round mark of 7.69 to place fourth overall in the finals. McCray's efforts catapulted her to an impressive showing in the 200-meter dash with a personal best time of 25.08, the second-best mark in school history.

"Kayla McCray is an absolute work horse," Ewing added. "She doesn't back down and is extremely focused on her goals."

Sophomore Kahliyah Anderson (Texarkana, TX/Texas), the Indian Hills January Female Student-Athlete of the Month, broke her own school record in the 200-meter dash, finishing ahead of McCray with a time of 24.65, eclipsing the previous mark by 0.27 seconds. Anderson's time was the second-best mark of the meet.

Aliyah Simmons (Miami, FL/North Miami), who holds the school record and top NJCAA mark in the 600-meter dash, set a new school record in the 600-yard run with a time of 1:24.10. The time is the second-best all-conditions mark in the NJCAA this season. Along with the 600-meter and 600-yard records, Simmons also owns the top school mark in the 800-meter event.

Sophomore Monse Guerrero (Ottumwa, IA/Ottumwa) set the Indian Hills record in the 5,000-meter event with a time of 20:15.33. Morgan Klaus (Bloomfield, IA/Davis County) put together a strong showing in the event as well with a time of 20:54.68.

"Monse Guerrero-Chapula is really on a hot streak right now," Ewing exclaimed. "She broke the 5,000m school record with ease. I expect her to give the national qualifying mark a run for its money by the end of the indoor season."

Lizeth Flores (Harvard, IL/Harvard) and Isabelle Mellin (Ottumwa, IA/Ottumwa) also excelled in distance events for the Warriors, putting together top-five Indian Hills performances in both the 1,000-meter and mile events.

Aimaya Drummond (San Antonio, TX/San Antonio Brennan) ran the second-fastest time in school history at 58.25. Temira Goods (Des Moines, IA/Des Moines Hoover) finished just behind Drummond at 59.34 and Ja'Dashia Catlin (Palm Coast, FL/Matanzas) set a new personal best in the event with a time of 59.75. Anderson was the top finisher in the event for the Warriors with a time of 56.45.

"Siby Yao and Haleigh Hadley continued their string of consistent results in the jumps," Ewing added. "Both are showing that they are capable of earning All-American status by year's end."

Yao placed fifth overall in the long jump with a mark of 5.33-meters while Hadley came in eighth in the high jump at 1.61-meters.

The Warriors' march to the national championship continues at the Gorilla Classic on Feb. 11-12 at Pittsburg, KS. The event will take place at the Robert W. Plaster Center, home to the 2022 NJCAA Indoor National Championship.