BOLIVAR, Mo. – Missouri S&T captured its sixth title at the 2022 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday at Plaster Stadium on the campus of Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri.
The Miners totaled 176.5 points to best runner-up Lewis University (138) by 38.5 points.
Lindenwood University (117) finished third, while University of Indianapolis (79.5) and Southwest Baptist University (72) placed fourth and fifth, respectively. Sixth place went to University of Southern Indiana (57), and the respective seventh- and eighth-place teams were Quincy University (52) and McKendree University (30). Maryville University (27) was ninth, while only one point separated Truman State University (23) in 10th from University of Illinois Springfield (22) in 11th. Drury University (19) placed 12th, while William Jewell College (2) and University of Missouri-St. Louis (2) tied for 13th.
Among the individual highlights in field events on Saturday, Lindenwood senior Jacob Opdahl repeated as the javelin champion, breaking his own GLVC record from last season (62.67 meters) by 0.32 meters with a throw of 62.99 meters (206-08).
In the jump events, S&T senior Mitch Fairless went high with a score of 2.07 meters (6-09.50) for gold, while Lewis sophomore Keegan Zack grabbed gold in the triple with a distance of 14.93 (-10 wind).
The 4x100-meter relay opened the events on the track, as Lindenwood took that win with a 41.13. The 1,500-meter run followed with three GLVC records broken in the same heat. Illinois Springfield sophomore Noah McIntyre got credit for the new standard after winning with a time of 3:45.46 to break former teammate Blake Jones’ 2021 time of 3:48.83. In second, with a time of 3:48.44, was S&T’s Lucas Rackers, while third place went to SBU’s Evan Smith in 3:48.58.
In the 110-meter hurdles, Lewis junior Connor Wagner snagged gold in 14.75 (-1.2 wind), while Lindenwood senior Damaine Dixon earned a repeat win in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a GLVC record time of 51.70, sneaking by the 2017 clip of 51.89.
The 100-meter (10.40; +0.5 wind) and 200-meter dash (21.08) gold medalist was GLVC Track Athlete of the Year, Jameel Walkes-Miller of Lindenwood, who met D-II qualification and marked a new GLVC record in the latter race that last was last set in 2001 (20.85).
Another Lion won gold in the 400-meter dash, as Samuel Yaro sprinted to a provisional time of 47.44, which preceded UIndy junior Ben Nagel’s winning performance in the 800-meter run at 1:50.70.
USI sophomore Titus Winders won the last distance race of the weekend, clocking a 14:41.68 in the 5,000-meter run before the 4x400-meter relay nightcap saw Lewis’ quad of Connor Wagner, Reese Kocanda, Will DeBolt, and Jacoby Jones just nose out Lindenwood’s foursome with a time of 3:16.02, compared to the Lions’ 3:16.25.
At the conclusion of the Championship, in addition to Walkes-Miller, Quincy’s Paden Lewis was named GLVC Field Athlete of the Year, S&T’s Otto Knittel was chosen GLVC Freshman of the Year, and the league coaches also recognized Shaun Meinecke as GLVC Coach of the Year.
Additionally, Southwest Baptist was honored as the GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award winner, while 14 student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior were also named as their sport’s honoree for the award. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees are now eligible to become one of their school’s two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced later this month.
TRACK ATHELTE OF THE YEAR: Jameel Walkes-Miller, Lindenwood
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Paden Lewis, Quincy
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Otto Knittel, Missouri S&T
COACH OF THE YEAR: Shaun Meinecke, Missouri S&T
JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM RECIPIENT
Southwest Baptist
JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP INDIVIDUAL HONOREES
Willam Purifoy, Drury
Jake Schwarts, Illinois Springfield
Ben Nagel, Indianapolis
Zyaire Sharman, Lewis
Chaz Casey, Lindenwood
Caleb Pyle, Maryville
Dontea Jones, McKendree
Dakota Doupe, Missouri S&T
Gavin Love, Missouri-St. Louis
Paden Lewis, Quincy
Loau Gray, Southern Indiana
Tyler Goatley, Southwest Baptist
Jacob Morris, Truman State
Ian Hoffman, William Jewell