PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Ouachita men's and women's track and field teams opened the indoor season with a sensational showing at the Crimson & Gold Invitational. The Tigers combined to set 13 program records and earned a dozen top-10 finishes across a wave of events at Pittsburg State's Harvey Dean Track.
The Ouachita women's team delivered a milestone performance, tallying eight top-10 placements and setting seven new program records. Highlight individual performances featured freshman Zyron Brock, who set a pair of school records while placing fourth in the long jump at 5.61m, then added another feat and placed sixth in the triple jump at 11.42m.
The women's 4x400 relay team of Angie Rojas, Joey Babel, Addi Durand and Anna Woolsey capped the day earning an 11th place finish and rewrote the relay history books with a program record-setting run of 3:57.28. The Tigers shined on the track behind record-setting runs from Babel, who finished fourth in the 600m at 1:26.38, and Durand, who placed seventh in the 800m at 2:16.44.
In the field, Ariana Neal placed seventh in the shot put with a throw of 12.48m. Kennedee Brittain finished 10th with a throw of 11.92m, then later secured the school record in the weight throw at 12.24m. Charley Stallings added to the women's record count in the pole vault at 3.30m.
The men's team matched the momentum with four top-10 performances and set six new school records, highlighted by a strong day in the throws. Rocco Patrick placed fourth in men's shot put with a record-setting throw of 14.14m, while Bo Rogers followed up in fifth place with a throw of 3.30m. Tucker Goodall placed ninth at 12.63m and Jackson Bates finished in tenth at 12.57m.
On the track, Aden Hecht set the school record in the 300m race with a time of 34.93. Caden Callahan broke the 60m hurdles mark with a 8.33 finish. The men's 4x400 relay of Kivion Seals, Hecht, Nathan Bradford and Mitchell Gage set a new school standard of 3:19.70. Isaac Chapman cleared 21-feet in the long jump to add another men's field record to the list of accolades in the indoor season opener.
