GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence track and field team hosted their first home dual against Carroll College Thursday afternoon. The Fighting Saints men defeated the Argos 84-40, while the Argo women fell 78-44.
Despite the losses, the coaching staff was very pleased with the development of the Argos. There were several big moments for the team – McKenzie Clark was just four centimeters away from qualifying for Nationals in the javelin, Dawson Fowler broke the school record in the triple jump, and several other athletes achieved personal records.
"For the most part I thought our young kids, and we are young, but I thought our freshman kids did a good job against a very high-powered team," head coach Tony Arntson said. "Obviously Carroll is the echelon of Frontier Conference track and field and I thought our kids did a great job."
Clark won the javelin throw with a mark 38.96 meters, just four centimeters off the National Qualifying mark. Sloane Chapman finished third with a mark of 27.75 meters. On the men's side, Sage Wanner recorded a mark of 35.96 meters.
The Argos got the top four spots in the women's hammer throw. Jillian Sanchez won the event with a new personal record of 44.57 meters, while Connor finished right behind her with a throw of 43.60 meters. Kaylee Beer finished third at 38.41 meters.
Sanchez also won the women's discus with a throw of 40.45 meters while Beer finished third with a mark of 38.84 meters. In women's shot put, Beer finished second place with a throw of 11.79 meters
The Argo jumpers also had a successful day. Dawson Fowler broke the school record at the triple jump with a mark of 14.10 meters, good for second in the event. Shane Girres placed third with a mark of 12.63 meters.
Fowler also did well in the high jump, placing third overall at 1.83 meters. Justin Kabbenhoft showed out in the long jump with a mark of 6.40 meters, good for second place overall.
Jaden Foster led the way for the runners, winning both the 200 meter (22:42) and the 400 meter (50:55). Logan Robinson finished third in the 200 with a time of 23:14. Kabbenhoft finished third in both the 110 meter hurdles (16.94) and the 400 meter hurdles (1:00:60).
Nash Grafe won the Men's 1500 meters race with a time of 4:40:30. Cort Bickle finished second with a time of 5:10:09, while Logan Martin finished third at 5:39:67. On the women's side, Riley Lind ran the 15000 meter in 23:22:07.
"Overall, I was very very happy with where we're at and optimistic about where we're going to go in the next few weeks," Arntson said. "I like where our conditioning was. Big picture, everything was good. Now we just have to focus on very technical fixes. Really right now we're focused on technique and making sure kids are focused on what they're going to be successful in. It's going to be a very productive spring."
The Argos will have a week before their next home meet on April 15.
