The Kansas Wesleyan men's 4x100-meter relay team set the tone at outset with a dazzling performance and carried the day in the Coyote Classic.
Austin Hash,
Kean Dinkel,
Kristian Paronto and Dejaylon Beal gave KWU a kick-start by winning in a school-record time of 41.77 seconds on Saturday during the event at JRI Hospitality Stadium and the Graves Family Sports Complex.
The group was just getting started, though. Hash went on to win the 400-meters with the third-fastest time in school history; Paronto won the 100 meters and Dinkel was the first across the finish line in the 200 meters.
"We switched the order up a little bit, and they've just been working really hard," coach
Kyle Hiser said of the relay team. "
Kean Dinkel as a freshman last year took some big steps forward but this year has really shown a lot of improvement.
Kristian Paronto, a transfer has come in and just really given a lot of good leadership. Hash is a freshman; he's still figuring out how to run. And Beal is a football guy (wide receiver), dual sporter. He's coming out here just always attacking track with a smile on his face."
Hash won the 400 in 48.90 seconds while teammate
Andrew Smith was 17th (52.85). Parento's time in the 100 was 10.75 and Dinkel posted a 21.99 time in the 200.
Paronto later displayed his versatility by taking third with a personal best in the long jump (22-10.5 feet). Mann Scott was eighth (20-5).
Austin Schaeffer etched his name in the KWU record book with a 4:00.14 time in the 1,500 meters.
Jake Cruz was fifth in a personal record time of 4:06.24.
Triston Cottone took seventh (4:09.40), Baraka Bapeng Jr. eighth (4:11.16),
Mauricio Mendez ninth (4:12.13),
Cohen Greve 10th (4:12.59),
Luke Adams 12th (4:15.95) and
Efrain Santibanez 17th (4:21.17).
Ethan Ochana finished third in the 5,000 meters (14:34.67).
Xavier Solis placed third in the triple jump (43-11.75 meters) while Scott was fifth (40-9). Solis also took fourth in the high jump (6 feet, 2 inches).
Will Childers finished fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:57.42).
Jude Nelson was the first of 13 Coyotes to cross the finish line in the 800 meters, taking fourth in 1:55.24.
Evan Pearce was sixth (1:57.74),
Braulio Torres seventh (1:57.74),
Logan Topp ninth (1:58.12), Schaeffer 11th (1:59.01),
Nicolas Martinez 12th (1:59.27),
Trace Sump 13th (1:59.99), Bapeng Jr. 15th (2:00.69),
Brady Oliver 20th (2:02.48), Santibanez 21st (2:03.44), Mendez 23rd (2:04.06), Greve 24th (2:05.38) and Adams 32nd (2:11.90).
"The distances were a highlight tonight," Hiser said. "Good to see those seniors running well and then in the 800 we had a plethora of guys breaking sub-two (minutes) for the first time.
"There's a reason we host this meet late at night because we look up and the flags down. So, for anyone that wants to run fast you come to Kansas Wesleyan, and you run the Distance Carnival and you're going to run fast."
In other field events
Keegan Lott was fifth in the shot put (47-3.5 feet) and
Jamar Armstrong 22nd (34-3.5).
Lott also placed sixth in the discus (140-8),
Austin Baird 10th (127-7) and Armstrong 23rd (89.5).
Riley Garcia placed 13th (108-7) in the javelin.
KWU next action is in the Alex Francis Classic on Thursday at Fort Hays State.
