It figured to be a battle to the end between two of Kansas Wesleyan's top middle-distance runners and
Wyatt Johnson and
Julian Avila certainly did not disappoint.
Johnson edged Avila at the finish line in winning the men's 800 meters in the Coyote Challenge on Friday night at JRI Hospitality Stadium in the Graves Family Sports Complex. Johnson's winning time was 1:53.67 while Avila was a close second in 1:54.22 on cold and blustery night.
"Julian was an individual qualifier and (NAIA) All-American indoors and Wyatt was an All-American on the relays so anytime you put those guys on the track it's going to be fast," coach
Kyle Hiser said. "And you throw
Triston Cottone (sixth in 1:55.59) and Ty (Davidson, seventh in 1:56.58) putting their noses in it too and having some fun too."
Giovanni Rios took ninth (1:57.87) and
Nate Chavez 10th (1:59.04) giving KWU six of the top 10 finishers.
Austin Schaeffer was 26th (2:02.15),
Nicolas Martinez 28th (2:02.31),
Ian Doss 35th (2:04.16) and
Will Childers 50th (2:19.61).
The event is the first home track meet for KWU since the Kansas Conference championships in 2019.
Keegan Lott, who has qualified for the NAIA National Championships in the javelin, won Friday's event on his home turf with a throw of 50.01 meters. Matthew Lucas was fifth (49.45) and
Riley Garcia 25th (30.25).
Freshman
Evan Pearce placed second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:43.02) and looked like a seasoned veteran in the process. Brendan Ellis took fourth (9:58.79).
"Evan was making his debut and looked really strong," Hiser said. "Really, really good race for him as a freshman and looked really confident throughout the race. He's a tall kid so getting over those barriers is pretty easy."
Damion Jackson and
Austin Hess were magnificent in the 5,000 meters, Jackson placing third (15:07.10) and Hess fourth (15:24.13). Teammates
Cisco Alvarez took eighth (16:13.79) and
Brodie Bradshaw ninth (16:18.73).
Giovanni Rios was the Coyotes' top finisher in the 1,500 meters crossing the finish line in sixth place (4:00.38).
"Gio looked really strong and ran a really good race," Hiser said.
Tytus Reed was 11th (4:10.97),
Austin Schaeffer 14th (4:15.12),
Ian Doss 15th (4:15.52),
Jack Horacek 27th (4:32.37),
Tim Parish 34th (4:38.16) and
Will Childers 35th (4:40.60).
In the hammer throw Keyon Baccus placed 35th (29.56) and
Dylan Worrell 36th (28.33).
The Coyote Challenge resumes at 10 a.m. Saturday with the remainder of the field events and running events. Throws will be at the venue on Coronado Avenue while the jumps and running events will take place in JRI Stadium – the running events beginning at 1 p.m.
