CHADRON, Neb. -- March 26, 2017 -- Chadron State College sophomore Cory Martens got the outdoor track and field season off to a great start Saturday by winning all three of the throwing events he entered at Yellow Jacket Spring Open Meet at Black Hills State in Spearfish.
               
Martens' mark in the hammer throw of 193 feet, 11 inches is a Chadron State record and he also had a personal best of 52-9 ½ in the shot put.  His toss of 164-9 that won the discus is just a foot shy of his personal best.  All three of his winning throws put him on the list of provisional qualifiers for the NCAA Division II National Outdoor Meet in late May.

The old school record in the hammer throw of 184-3 ½ was set by Zach Even in 2003. Originally from Newton, Kan., Martens' previous best in the hammer was 171-3 ½.

About half of the Chadron State team members, nearly all of them throwers and distance runners, participated in the Black Hills State meet.  Besides Martens' triple, Eagles won five other events at the meet, which also drew five teams from the Dakotas.

In addition, juniors Blake Jacobs in the shot put and Jesse Bleidt in the hammer throw were second in those events with national meet provisional qualifying marks.  Bleidt also placed third in the discus and Jacobs was fourth in the hammer.

CSC senior Alejandro Garcia won the 5000 meters in 15 minutes, 18.20 seconds and was third in the 1500 at 3:59.84, just three seconds off his career best in that race.

Chadron State women won or shared first in four events.  Although All-American thrower Mel Herl did not participate, senior Keri Ruff led the discus throwers with a toss of 143-8 and junior Ashlyn Hanson won the hammer throw at 178-1, her personal best by eight feet and a provisional qualifying mark.

The Eagles also won the pole vault, where Tory Snyder cleared 10-8, and the split first in the high jump, where Haley Gallagher went 5-2 ½. 

Maggie Vinton was second in the 5000 and fourth in the 1500 to lead the CSC women in the distance races.   

The entire Chadron State team will enter at meet at the University of Northern Colorado on Saturday, April 1.           

The Eagles placings at Black Hills State follow:

Women's Results:
                1500—4, Maggie Vinton, 5:02.27.
                5000—2, Maggie Vinton, 19:17.14; 4, Taylor Allison, 19:21.49; 5, Savannah Silbaugh, 20:51.87.
                Shot put—4, Danielle Weyer, 37-11 ¼; 5, Ashton Hallsted, 35-7 ½.
                Discus—1, Keri Ruff, 143-8; 2, Ashlyn Hanson, 126-6.
                Hammer throw—1, Ashlyn Hanson, 178-1; 3, Ashton Hallsted, 149-2; 4, Keri Ruff, 148-4; 6, Danielle Weyer, 145-0.
                High jump—1, tie included Haley Gallagher, 5-2 ¼.
                Pole vault—1, Tory Snyder, 10-8; 3, Haley Gallagher, 10-2; 4, Courtney Anderson, 9-2 ¼.
Men's Events
                1500—3, Alejandro Garcia, 3:59.84; 4, Levi Avila, 4:03.55.
                5000—1, Alejandro Garcia, 15:18.20; 4, Dylan Stansbury, 15:39.44; 5, Eric Yager, 15:44.18; 6, Levi Avila, 15:49.72.
                4x400 relay—5, Chadron State, 3:41.32.
                Shot put—1, Cory Martens, 52-9 ½; 2, Blake Jacobs, 52-8; 5, David Aldridge, 47-10 ½.
                Discus—1, Cory Martens, 164-9; 3, Jesse Bleidt, 154-10; 5, David Aldridge, 140-5.
                Hammer throw—1, Cory Martens, 193-11 (school record); 2, Jesse Bleidt, 179-2; 4, Blake Jacobs, 170-7.