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The Friends University Track and Field program is preparing to put a close on the 2014 season. The year was filled with many great achievements for the falcons both on an individual and team level. Both the Men's and Women's programs took 3rd in the Conference Indoor Championships and 2nd in a very tight race in the Outdoor Championships just a couple weeks ago. The team brought home 16 Conference event champions, 11 School Records, and 5 KCAC Conference Meet Records during the indoor and outdoor season combined.

As the season comes to a close, the Falcons have 1 final test as they have qualified 16 Athletes for the NAIA Outdoor National Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama at the end of May. This is one of the largest national teams put together by a Friends University Track Program in recent history.

The women's program will have 7 athletes making the trip that are competing in 8 events. The squad is being led by its freshman who make up 4 of the 7 qualifiers.

Rachel Renken, a senior from Lakeside High School is the lone senior to make the trip for the women's team, however she is no stranger to national competition as this is her 3rd trip in the NAIA Championships in the last 2 years (2 Indoor, 1 Outdoor). After qualifying for the Indoor National meet in back to back seasons in the 3,000m, Renken decided to add a few barriers in her way as she will be attending the meet to run in the 3,000m Steeplechase with her qualifying time of 11:27.67 (Ranked 31st).

Angie Vailas, a freshman from Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School is the top-seeded female falcon going into the National Meet. Vailas has qualified for the meet in three different events. Her highest national ranking comes in the 100m dash where she has posted a time of 11.79 seconds (Friends school record, National "A" Standard, KCAC Conference Champion, Ranked 10th in the NAIA). She has also qualified in the 200M dash with an "A" standard time of 24.83 seconds (Ranked 26th), and she is a member of the 4x100M relay which also hit an "A" standard of 47.89 (Ranked 19th).

Kaitlyn Keck, a sophomore from Campus High School has also qualified for the national meet in multiple events. Keck put together a tremendous season setting 4 School Records (Indoor Triple Jump, Pentathlon, Outdoor Triple Jump, Heptathlon). She is currently ranked 13th in the NAIA in the Heptathlon, which is a multi-event competition consisting of 7 events over 2 days (100 Hurdles, High Jump, Shot Put, 200, Long Jump, Javelin, 800). Keck has also qualified for the National meet in the Triple Jump with an "A" standard leap of 37'11.50" (Ranked 25th).

Madison Behny, a junior from Andale High School will be traveling to the National meet for two competitions as well. She has hit the "A" standard individually in the 100 Hurdles with a time of 14.82 (Ranked 24th) and she is also a member of the women's 4x100.

The last multiple event qualifier for the falcons is Abby Simon of Andale High School. Simon is another member of a stellar freshman class that came into the program this year. She is a member of the team's national qualifying 4x100, and she also hit the National "B" standard with her leap of 18'4.5" in the Long Jump (Ranked 21st).

The final two qualifiers are also freshman who will be traveling with the team as members of the 4x100 Relay. Connor Reh of Pratt High School runs the 3rd leg on the relay that hit the National "A" Standard, and Jamie Alexander of Valley Center High School will be traveling as the relays alternate runner.

The men's program will be traveling with 9 athletes who have qualified in 7 different events. The senior class produced the most qualifiers with 5 athletes.

The highest ranked falcon individual on the men's side going into the meet is Dexter Davis of Rex, Georgia. Davis is a senior who has qualified for the national meet in 3 different events. Davis' highest ranking comes in the 100M dash where he is currently ranked 6th in the country with his "A" standard run of 10.52 (KCAC Conference Champion). He has also qualified in the 200m dash with a time of 21.54 (Ranked 18th), and as a member of the men's 4x100 relay team that set a KCAC Conference record of 41.42 seconds.

Derek Racette, a junior from Hutch Trinity gives the falcons their only returning national qualifier as he hit the National Standard for the 2nd year in a row in the javelin. His toss of 193'8" currently ranks him 11th in the NAIA. Racette brought home 8th place last year which gave him All-American status in the event. Racette will also be the alternate runner for the men's 4x100 relay.

Emmanuel Aceves, a senior from Emporia High School qualified for Nationals for the first time putting a cherry on top of his great career at Friends University. Aceves will be competing in the Discus with his "A" Standard throw of 159'00". (Ranked 24th)

The final individual qualifier for the men's team comes from Brock Nooney, a senior from Campus High School. Nooney put together an excellent game plan at the KCAC Outdoor Championships to run a KCAC Conference Record in the 800 with his time of 1:52.31. That time currently has him ranked as the 15th fastest in the NAIA going into the national meet. Nooney is also a member of the falcons national qualifying 4x800 team.

The men's program hit the NAIA "A" Standard in two relays this season, both the 4x100m and the 4x800m which helped add a handful of athletes to the national list. The men's 4x100 ran 41.42 which is currently ranked 9th in the country with the team of Lewis Taylor, Juante Baldwin, Anthony White, and Dexter Davis. The 4x800 team ran a school record of 7:44.53 with the squad of Jordan Umscheid, Max Burley, Mitch Heller, and Brock Nooney. Their time has them ranked 14th in the NAIA going into the meet.

Both programs have a tremendous shot to place a few athletes on the awards stand and give them All-American status this season (Top 8). The NAIA National Meet will be taking place on Thursday May 22nd through Saturday May 24th. Live results and video will be available on www.naia.org.

Read the full article at: www.friendsathletics.com

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