Wichita, Kan. - The Central Methodist University men's and women's indoor track & field programs began indoor competition over the weekend at the 2021 Friends University Invite in Wichita, Kan. 

Several Eagles landed new personal bests along with a new school record in the men's shot put. On the men's side, junior sprinter Curtis Johns took home first place in the 60m dash with a PR of 6.97 seconds as well as the top spot in the 200m dash in a time of 23.05. 

Senior Jacob Fritz won the men's high jump with a final jump of 1.91 meters. Parker Yager and Robert Jerrick finished fourth and fifth in the pole vault with jumps of 4.40 and 4.25 meters respectively. 

Senior Taylor Bottomley highlighted Day 1 of the Invite, as the Harrisburg, Mo. native broke the school record in the shot put with a throw of 16.48 meters, good enough for a first-place finish. He also placed second in the weight throw with a final toss of 16.70 meters. 

Hayden Hackman competed in the Heptathlon and concluded the seven-event challenge with a second-place finish with 4629 total points. The senior won three of the seven events including the shot put, pole vault, and 1000 meter race. 

On the women's side, senior Jada Gaines finished second in the 60-meter dash with a time of 8.07, just .02 seconds off from the top spot. Abbie Hale posted a Top-3 finish in the 200-meter dash in a time of 27.69 seconds. 

Freshman Kailey Johnson and Gaines posted a 1-2 finish in the long jump, as Johnson won the event with a final mark of 5.10 meters and Gaines with 4.79 meters. Johnson also won her first collegiate race in the 60-meter hurdles in a time of 9.82 seconds. Sophomore Teagan Howell placed fourth in the weight throw with a final toss of 11.48 meters. 

Both teams will look to conference competition when they travel to Lamoni, Iowa for the first of three meets of the Graceland Invitational next Saturday, Jan. 16.

To view the complete list of results, please click here. 

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