GOLDEN, Colo. –  Freshman Trace Hanchett won the javelin event, sailing the spear 65.60 meters, or 215 feet, 3 inches, to set the Chadron State school record and lead CSC's performances on day one of the Kit Mayer Classic hosted by Colorado School of Mines in Golden.

Hanchett previously attracted lots of attention at Chadron State's outdoor opener a few weeks ago when he became the college's first athlete to sail the javelin more than 200 feet since 1989. That mark was 62.07 meters, or 203 feet, 5 ¼ inches, but he did even better Friday.

Aside from taking the Chadron State school record, Hanchett's winning throw also is the longest ever at Mines' Stermole Track and Field Complex and his mark takes the lead among Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference throwers this season.  

The Eagles' former javelin record of 206 feet, 8 inches was set by the late Deron Dolfi in 1986. Dolfi went on become a three-time All-American in the javelin. The Stermole Complex record prior to Friday was 207-3 and belonged to Daniel Poh, who competed unattached in 2017. 

Triston Hite, of Grant, Nebraska, joined Hanchett in the event's top five by placing fifth with a throw of 46.20 meters (151-5). In the women's javelin competition, Catherine Bryner of Hemingford, Nebraska was fifth with a mark of 32.97 meters (108-9), just ahead of teammate Kendall Petty at 32.63 (107-1). 

In the men's hammer throw, Parker Gonser placed 10th with a throw of 53.77 meters (176-5) while Christopher Jennings finished just outside the top 10 in 12th at 52.96 meters (173-9). Outside of the throws, freshman triple jumper Camila Salvucci placed third in her event by jumping 11.76 meters (38-7). 

Day two of the Kit Mayer Classic, featuring most of the track events, continues Saturday with field events starting at 10 a.m. and running events resuming at 12 p.m. A live stream is available on the RMAC Network while live results are available online. 

Eagles Have More Bright Spots At Kit Mayer

CHADRON, Neb. – Although freshman Trace Hanchett's record-breaking javelin throw on Friday remained the highlight for the Chadron State College track and field teams at the Kit Mayer Classic hosted by Colorado School of Mines, the Eagles had numerous other strong performances on Saturday. 

"We had lots of season-best marks against outstanding competition this weekend," Chadron State head coach Jake Gruver noted. The meet also served to help the Eagles gain momentum as they zero in on the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships that will be at the same facilities in Golden in two weeks. 
 
Other schools at the meet included all four of Colorado's Division I teams along with the University of Wyoming, not to mention Colorado School of Mines, one of the RMAC powerhouses.  

The Eagles' bright spots Saturday included the 4x100 men's relay team running a season-best time of 41.01 seconds while placing second to only the Wyoming Cowboys. The mark is Chadron State's seventh fastest all-time. The foursome was made up of Esosa Iyengunmwena, Christopher Cormier, Creighton Trembly and Ryan Clapper.

Trembly also placed second in the 110 hurdles in 14.58 seconds while Clapper was fourth among the 51 entries in the 200 meters with a season-best mark of 21.37 seconds. Only three Air Force Academy Falcons finished ahead of Clapper.

Another CSC hurdler besides Trembly also did well. Senior Nicquiane Henry's time of 53.22 seconds in the 400 hurdles is the fourth fastest on the Eagles' all-time list. 

In the women's competition, Morgan Ekwall had career-best marks in both the shot put (41-4 ¼) and hammer throw (151-4) and sprinter Shantae Morgan continued to make progress, finishing ninth in the 100 meters with a time of 12.41 seconds. She also ran the 200 in 25.61, both season-bests.     

The Eagles will be back in action this Friday, April 18 at the Bauer Open Meet at South Dakota Mines in Rapid City.

Eagle top-10 placings follow: 
Men's Events
200—4, Ryan Clapper, 21.37; 10, Christopher Cormier, 21.64.
110 hurdles—2, Creighton Trembly, 14.58
400 hurdles—7, Nicquaine Henry, 53.22.
4x100 relay—2, Chadron State (Esosa Iyengunmwena, Christopher Cormier, Ryan Clapper, Creighton Trembly), 41.01. 
Hammer throw—10, Parker Gonser, 176-5.
Javelin—1, Trace Hanchett, 215-3; 5, Triston Hite, 151-7.

Women's Events
100—9, Shantae Morgan, 12.41.
100 hurdles—8, Eva Nitschke, 15.25.
Triple jump—3, Camila Salvucci, 38-7.
Shot put—5, Morgan Ekwall, 41-4.25; 8, Kailey Fobare, 36-9.
Javelin—5, Catherine Bryner, 108-2; 6, Kendall Petty, 107-1; 8, Devyn Thornton, 97-8; 9, Allison Beard, 81-9; 10, Sophia Gilbert, 80-1.

Eagles Shut Out Fort Lewis Twice In Wins

CHADRON, Neb. – Tori Haug and Kenzi Garner combined to shut out Fort Lewis on the day, Sophia Brennan hit two home runs and Lauren Zimmerman drove home three to tie the program's career RBI record as Chadron State defeated Fort Lewis 8-0 and 2-0 in the first two games of a four-game series Saturday from Chadron. 

The Eagles got the bats working in game one, as CSC hit three home runs and had three players drive in multiple runs to end it in five innings. Then, Chadron State survived a strong pitching performance from FLC's Chloe Padilla, scoring two unearned runs and relying on a seven-inning shutout from Garner to secure the Saturday sweep. 

Lauren Zimmerman, who entered Saturday's action needing three RBI to tie and four RBI to break the career program record of 139 set by alum Allison Hendricksen (2007-2010), did enough on the day to pull dead even with Hendricksen. Zimmerman ripped a two-run double into the right-center gap in her first at-bat, then added a sacrifice fly in game two. 

The two wins pull Chadron State's record up to 16-24 overall and 12-22 in the RMAC. Fort Lewis falls to 8-30 with a 7-26 RMAC record. 

The Eagles had their foot on the gas early and often in the series opener. Aliyah Rothstein singled and Jazlyn Arvizo walked to lead off the game before Zimmerman scored them both by lacing a line-drive double to the opposite field. Chadron State added on in the second when Sophia Brennan crushed a leadoff solo homer to left center.

The ball would continue to leave the yard for Chadron State in the third inning. After the first two hitters were retired, J'lyssa Martinez smashed a solo shot, her third of the season. Brogan Allen extended the inning with a single to bring up Brennan, who went to nearly an identical spot over the wall in left center to make it 6-0, Eagles. 

The two home runs for Brennan are the CSC catcher's second multi-home run game in the last three weeks and give Brennan six total home runs on the year, tying Ashland Baca for second on the team. 

Meanwhile, senior Tori Haug was cruising in the circle. Haug only allowed three baserunners, giving up solitary singles to Faith Sgro and Alyssa Fockler and a walk to Cali Niccum, while striking out five batters. 

Haug's dominance gave the Eagles a chance to end it in five innings if they could reach the eight-run margin required for the run rule. The Eagles obliged, with Ashland Baca and Martinez hitting back-to-back singles and a wild pitch moving Martinez and pinch-runner Sydney Loyet up to second and third. Allen ended it with a crisp base hit up the middle, scoring both runners and giving CSC an 8-0 victory.

Game two was a pitcher's duel. Chloe Padilla excelled in the circle for Fort Lewis, striking out 10 Eagles on the day, including the first six outs of the game. It was Fort Lewis's defense that aided Chadron State in the only scoring inning of the game, the bottom of the third. 

Angelina Quezada led off with a single before an attempted sacrifice bunt by Elizabeth Thorngren turned into a Skyhawks throwing error that let Quezada come all the way around to score. 

Aliyah Rothstein and Jazlyn Arvizo then both bunted and reached base, with Rothstein beating out a single and Arvizo reaching on a fielder's choice when FLC tried to back pick Thorngren at third unsuccessfully. With the bases loaded, Lauren Zimmerman lifted a fly ball to right for a sacrifice fly and a second unearned run with Thorngren scoring. 

That was all the run support Kenzi Garner needed. The senior turned in a masterpiece, throwing seven shutout innings allowing just three hits with no walks and six strikeouts, which set a season-high and matched a career-high for the Colorado native. Garner retired the final 10 batters of the game. 

Chadron State and Fort Lewis will conclude their four-game series on Sunday with two more games. First pitch is set for 11 a.m.