Kirkwood Named NCCAA DII Student-Athlete of the Week; Eagles Hold Their Own Against Tough Competition

Kirkwood Named NCCAA DII Student-Athlete of the Week; Eagles Hold Their Own Against Tough Competition
May 2, 2019

By Loretta Gamboe, Staff Writer

INDIANOLA, Iowa—The Faith Eagles competed well this weekend in the Kip Janvrin Open at Simpson College, where nearly 1300 participants from thirty-three schools, including DI and DII opponents, participated in one of the largest meets in the Midwest.  Two Eagles placed at the meet, and several members of the team set new personal or season bests.  Seven of the Eagles now qualify for Nationals, which is one of the largest groups in Faith's history. 

Jacob Kirkwood continues to improve his discus throw, increasing his mark to 49.94m, earning him 2nd-place in the meet, the top ranking in the NCCAA, and the honor of being named NCCAA Student-Athlete of the Week. 

Kirkwood also participated in the shot put, where he finished 11th.  More about Kirkwood's NCCAA honors can be read here: https://thenccaa.org/

Tanner Van Beek finished 6th in the javelin, outthrowing opponents from much bigger schools.  Chelsea Ratliff set a new personal best in the 200m with a time of 27.08. 

Josiah Brown ran the 800m for the first time this season, running a solid 2:05.49.  He improved his 3,000m steeplechase time to 10:32.66, which means he now ranks 24th in the NCCAA for that event.  Evan McKinney set a new season-best in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:02.42, which ranks him 29th in the NCCAA. 

Two of the Eagles competed in the high jump.  Sam Pedersen finished at 14th, clearing 1.80m.  Freshman Christian Brown competed for the first time this season and finished 15th, clearing 1.75m to rank 21st in the NCCAA. 

"It was an extremely competitive meet, and a great opportunity for our team to participate and compete in," said Coach Sauser. "The team continued to respond well with some really solid performances. It's been a great season and we look forward to one final tune-up this Friday in Dubuque at Loras College before Nationals next week!"