WICHITA, Kan. — The Southwestern College men's and women's track and field teams will travel to Wichita this week to compete in the KCAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Friends University at Adair-Austin Stadium.
The two-day meet begins Thursday, April 30, and concludes Friday, May 1, as the Moundbuilders look to build on a season marked by steady improvement and several top performances.
Southwestern's men's squad will be led by its sprint group, headlined by Ben Patkowski and Dominique Orosco. Patkowski owns a season-best time of 10.96 seconds in the 100 meters, while Orosco has posted a 10.99 and a team-leading 22.36 in the 200 meters.
Manuel Reyes adds depth across multiple events, entering with a 16.09 in the 110-meter hurdles and a 58.56 in the 400 hurdles. Logan Churchill has paced the 400 meters with a 51.98 mark, while Jack Titgemeyer (2:14.39) and Jamell Sanchez (2:26.11) lead the middle-distance group in the 800 meters.
In the field events, freshman JJ Crawford has been a standout, posting a season-best 7.00 meters in the long jump. Luke Peffer (1.87 meters) and Lyrix Howard (1.73 meters) provide strength in the high jump.
The Moundbuilders also bring solid marks in the throws, led by Emerson Williams with a 39.73-meter throw in the hammer and 13.97 meters in the shot put, while Anthony Mendoza has added a 36.60-meter effort in the hammer.
On the women's side, Southwestern will rely heavily on its throwers. Malia Pearson enters with the team's top discus mark at 35.68 meters, while Vanessa Mendoza has recorded a 34.52-meter throw in the event and a team-best 38.32 meters in the hammer.
Pearson also leads the shot put at 10.71 meters, giving Southwestern a strong presence across the throwing events.
On the track, Abigail Eckert paces the sprints with a 13.41 time in the 100 meters and a 4.49-meter mark in the long jump. Lauryn Peterson anchors the distance group, entering with times of 3:04.26 in the 800 meters and 6:24.77 in the 1500 meters.
The championships will feature competition from across the KCAC, with events spread over two days at Friends University's Adair-Austin Stadium. Southwestern will look to convert its top marks into scoring performances as the conference meet gets underway Thursday.
