Kilson Marks NAIA Standard, Wildcats Split Trip for Regular-Season Finale
MARYVILLE, Mo./JACKSONVILLE, Ill. - In their final weekend of the indoor regular season, the Baker men's and women's track and field teams split up their outings with a group of Wildcats in action at the Bearcat Invite, while another group competed at Illinois College's Jim Green Invitational.
Senior Naomi Kilson cleared the national standard in the women's long jump for the second straight indoor season, narrowly clearing the NAIA 'B' standard by a mere one centimeter on Saturday. Kilson recorded a jump of 5.59 meters in her fifth attempt to earn the national mark and capture first-place honors at the Jim Green Invite.
The Wildcats opened up the weekend with Northwest Missouri State's Bearcat Invite which kicked off on Friday in Maryville, Mo. The bulk of BU's competitors at Northwest featured the distance squad with Aidan Massey's 16th-place finish in the men's 5K highlighting the trip.
Natalie Kennedy set two personal bests, first in the women's 1K on Friday where she clocked a time of 3:17.02 and finished in 17th. She followed it up on Saturday by cutting her best time in the mile down to 5:36.02 which placed her 29th overall in the event.
Cutter Meade was the top finisher for BU in the men's 1K, marking a time of 2:37.19 to finish in 19th.
In Jacksonville, Ill., Kilson bagged a second individual title after setting a new personal record in the 60-meter dash. She clocked a 7.81 in the finals to finish in first and move into the top-five of the Heart's performance list in the event.
PJ McCallop Jr. came away with a first-place finish in the men's 200m, running a 22.35 to earn the first individual title of his debut season. Trot Wood followed closely behind with a time of 22.86 which placed him fourth overall.
Wood added another top finish in the 400m, earning runner-up honors with a time of 50.18. Bailey Arceneaux placed third in the women's 200m (26.70) and fifth in the 400m (1:01.72).
Joining Kilson in the field events, Hannah Jensen finished behind her teammate in the women's long jump, marking her best distance at 5.29 meters to place third. The freshman from Olathe, Kan., registered another personal record in the triple jump with a leap of 10.48 meters which gave her a second-place finish.
With the indoor regular season coming to a close, the Wildcats will now turn their attention to the 2024-25 Heart of America Conference Championships, which are scheduled for Feb. 14-15 in Maryville.
Currently, Baker has 12 marks within the top eight of the conference performance list with Kilson sitting in fourth in the long jump (5.59m), fifth in the 60m (7.81) and seventh in the 200m (26.01). McCallop holds the Heart's third-best time in the 200m (21.96) and seventh in the long jump (6.72m). Wood (48.93) and Arceneaux (59.43) both have their 400m times from the season opener still sitting in the top eight with Wood's time ranking third and Arceneaux's in sixth.
Massey ranks fifth in the 3K (8:48.28) and sixth in both the mile (4:22.16) and 5K (15:21.06). Kameron Glasper's mark from the Washburn Open (14.76m) is fourth-best among the conference, while CarVelle Jones ranks eighth in the triple jump (12.97m).
#BakerBuildsChampions