Lawrence, Kan. - The Southwest Baptist University track and field team continued their strong start to their season with several strong performances at the Jayhawk Classic on Friday. The Bearcats produced one automatic qualifying time and four national provisional qualifying marks, while the meet was highlighted by Bill Shell's 400 performance where he ran the fastest 400 meter time in the nation.

Kicking things off for the Bearcats during the AM session of the Jayhawk Classic was Dylan Barnum in the 60 meter hurdles. Barnum ran the fifth fastest time in pre-lims in a time of 8.39, while taking 8th overall in a time of 8.51 in finals. On the women's side, Michelle Chukwujekwu took 39th overall in a time of 8.18.

Next up for the Bearcats was Derek Showler in the AM men's mile where he placed 9th in a time of 4:36.01. In the 600 yard run Kate Crane took 8th in a time of 1:32.05, while Maverick Bowleg took 3rd in the men's 400 meter dash in a time of 50.30 (the fourth fastest time in school history) and Dwayne Lawrence who placed 15th in a time of 51.47.

Mitch Furtkamp continued the Bearcats success with a 2nd place finish in the 1,000 meter run in a time of 2:37.83, while Elizabeth Luckel took home the individual title in the AM women's 800 session with a time of 2:18.53. Closing out the AM session for the runners were the 3,000 meter racers. On the men's side Thomas Chabrecek took 7th in a time of 9:09.33, while Jordan Noffsinger took 18th in a time of 9:19.12. On the women's side Alexis Lindemann took 4th in a time of 10:45.92, while Rachel Wheeler placed 16th in a time of 11:15.84.

Moving into the PM session of the meet, the Bearcats continued to see strong results. In the men's mile, Drew Cargill finished 5th in a time of 4:25.84 and Mitch Furtkamp took 11th in a time of 4:35.75. On the women's side, Christina Owensby took 4th in a time of 5:09.59, the 3rd fastest time in SBU history, while Katherine Sitzes finished 8th in a time of 5:15.16.

In the men's 400 meter dash, Bill Shell took home the individual title in a time of 47.88. Shell's time is the top time in the NCAA Division II and is an automatic qualifying time. Emma Shell also ran a solid race in the women's 400 meter dash where she finished 4th in a time of 56.46. Shell's time is a national provisional qualifying time and ranks her 3rd in the nation.

In the men's 200 meter dash, Deneko Brown won his heat, but took 3rd overall in a time of 22.15 which is a national provisional qualifying time. In the women's 3,000 meter run Ashley Wolkomir placed 5th in a time of 10:23.31 which is the 3rd fastest time in school history, and on the men's side Derek Lee took 3rd overall in a time of 8:41.47.

Closing out the running portion of the meet were the relay teams. The men's distance medley relay team comprised of Drew Cargill, Dylan Barnum, Travis Furtkamp, and Cody Troy Smith took 4th in a time of 10:41.24, while the women's distance medley relay team comprised of Christina Owensby, Alexis Lindemann, Elizabeth Luckel, and Katherine Sitzes also took 4th in a time of 12:43.41.

In the women's 4x400 meter relay, the team comprised of Emma Shell, Cekia Pierce, Margaret Hurst, and Kate Crane took 8th in a time of 4:04.52. Closing out the running events was the men's 4x400 meter relay team, comprised of Bill Shell, Dwayne Lawrence, Deneko Brown, and Maverick Bowleg, took home the title in a time of 3:17.59. The relay's time ranks 2nd in the NCAA this season, is a national provisional qualifying time, and is the second fastest time in school history.

Not only did the runners have a strong meet, but the field events also had many strong performances. In the women's high jump, Natalie O'Keefe took 2nd overall with a jump of 1.72 meters, which is a national provisional qualifying mark ranking her 5th in the NCAA and is a new SBU school record. In the same event, Tori Declue took 4th with a jump of 1.62 meters. In the women's pole vault Staci Wickersham finished 6th with a vault of 3.50 meters which is a new SBU school record.

The Bearcats will return to the track on Saturday, January 31 when they travel to Missouri Southern for the MSSU Lion Invite.