2021 Mel Tjeerdsma Classic Results (PDF)

The Northwest Missouri State men's and women's track teams were finally able to compete at the Mel Tjeerdsma Classic, their first competition in 10 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bearcat men also had three individuals and one team meet DII provisional qualifying marks in the meet while the women also had one individual reach provisional qualifying marks.

"It was fun to compete," said head coach Brandon Masters, "we competed as a team, we fought hard, and it was a lot of fun."

For the women, Jada Shanklin finished third in the high jump with a provisional qualifying mark of 5-05.75 (1.67m). Hannah Whitlock took second place in the shot put with a throw of 40-08.75 (12.41m).

Freshman Ally Hammond had a strong individual showing, placing 3^rd in 60m hurdles in a time of 9.32 seconds before her runner-up finish in the 60m dash in 7.84 seconds.

The Bearcat women took gold and silver in the one-mile run as sophomore Delanie Dykes won the race in 5:04.81 while Caroline Cunningham finished in 5:14.04 for second place.

Northwest was also dominant in the women's 400m dash, claiming the top four finishes of the day. Sophomore Tiffany Hughey ran the race in 59.06 seconds for a first-place finish while Regan Aurich (59.72s), Aliyah Simmons (59.85s), and Lexi Whitaker (1:01.43) rounded out the top four.

Freshman Bailey Blake took silver in the women's 800m run, finishing in 2:15.72, just one second off provisional qualifying time. In the women's 3,000m run, junior Amber Owens ran for a second-place finish in 10:31.74 while junior Keely Danielsen finished third in 10:48.20.

The women's 4x400m relay team of Hughey, Moe Bianchi, Addie Palser, and Simmons finished out the night by running for a third-place finish in 3:57.59.

On the men's side, Blake Morgan won the high jump with a provisional qualifying mark of 6-09.00 (2.06m). Jacob Norris (4:08.54) and Reece Smith (4:09.95) each ran provisional qualifying one-mile times while Norris set both a meet and school record for the race.

Junior Abdelrahim Mahgoub was just seven-tenths of a second off of a provisional qualifying time in the 400m dash, running in 49.12 seconds. Senior Caelon Harkey also finished fourth in the men's 200m dash in a time of 22.07 seconds.

In the men's 3,000m run, the Bearcat men claimed four of the five best finishes. Mike Lagat (8:39.54) ran for second place, Jacob Nkamasiai (8:45.61) took third, Frederick Kipyego (8:47.41) placed fourth, and Trevor Ramsdell (9:02.82) rounded out the top five.

The Bearcat men's 4x400m relay team of Harkey, R.J. Williams, Federico Crisci, and Mahgoub ran a provisional qualifying time of 3:15.57 and finished for third place in the event.

Northwest will be back at Hughes Fieldhouse Friday, Jan. 22 and Saturday, Jan. 23 to run in the Northwest Open.