CHADRON, Neb. – Seven Chadron State College entries won events at the Myrle Hanson Open Indoor Track and Field Meet at Black Hills State, which drew athletes from a half dozen schools on Saturday. 

While sprinters and jumpers dominated the headlines in CSC indoor track's first two meets of the season, Saturday's competition saw the Eagles rack up victories in the throws and distance events. 

Chadron State still performed well in the sprints. The Eagles rested most of their primary sprinters in individual events on Saturday, but CSC football standout Tommy Thomas competed and won the 60-meter dash, besting 30 entries with a time of 7.01 seconds.

The Eagles also won the 4x400-meter relay, with the winning quartet made up of Jacob Jefferson, Christopher Cormier, Ryan Clapper and Nicquaine Henry. Despite it being their first time running as a unit, their time of 3:24.55 is just a half second from making the Eagles' top 15 all-time list and ranks fifth on the RMAC chart for this season.

Also on the track, freshman Wyatt Bly was stashed in the slow heat of the 3000 meters, but he had the winning time of 8:52.21, which ranks among the top 15 on the Eagles' all-time list.  There were 20 runners in the race and Bly won it by eight seconds. Another CSC distance runner, junior Nate Mann, was second in the mile, which had more than 30 contestants. His time of 4:28.11 is a career best.

On the women's side, Alissa Wieman won the mile, which had 20 entries, and was also the runner-up in the 3000. Her mile time of 5:17.91 nearly matches her career best, and the 2025 season has barely begun.

Chadron State men won three field events, including seniors Christopher Jennings in the weight throw and Parker Gonser in the shot put.  Their marks of 59-9 ¾ and 49-1 ¾, respectively, will easily qualify them for the conference meet, and Jennings' heave also puts him on the national qualifying list. A freshman thrower, Quade Jordan, was third in the shot put at 46-5 ¼. The mark is 2 ½ feet farther than his distance at the meet at Black Hills State a week earlier. 

CSC's double reigning RMAC Field Athletes of the Week, sophomore Chayton Bynes and freshman Camila Salvucci, each skipped out on the triple jump event which led to their wins last week to compete in the long jump instead. 

Bynes, who at the previous meet exceeded 50 feet in the triple jump three consecutive times, went a career-best 24-1 ½ in the long jump on Saturday, making him the seventh CSC athlete to exceed 24 feet in the event. Bynes's mark is the third longest in the RMAC so far this season and is a top 16 mark in Division II nationally. Salvucci placed third at 16-9 ½, putting her the among the top 25 in the conference.

Coach Jake Gruver also noted that numerous others had marks that were substantial enough to make them legitimate contenders to qualify for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Meet at the end of February if they continue to improve. The coach added that throwers Morgan Ekwell and Ashlyn Tapio had marks that will put them in contention to qualify for the RMAC Meet, which generally has room for only about 20 entries in each event at the indoor showdown.  He also noted that Shantae Morgan, a senior, and Riley Wiese, a freshman, are injury-free and are improving in the sprint and hurdles, respectively. 

The Eagles placings at the meet follow:  
Men's Results
              60 meters—1, Tommy Thomas, 7.01.
              200—4, Tommy Thomas, 23.33.
              800—6, Nate Mann, 2:03.40
              Mile—2, Nate Mann, 4:28.11.
              3000—1, Wyatt Bly, 8:52.21.
              4x100 relay—1, Chadron State (Jacob Jefferson, Chris Cormier, Ryan Clapper, Nicquaine Henry). 3:24.55; 2, Chadron State (Greg Logsdon, Diego Perez, Kadin Perez, Malachi Swallow), 3:29.62.
              Shot put—1, Parker Gonser, 49-1 ¾; 3, Quade Jordan, 46-5 ¼; 5, Caleb Christensen, 43-8 ¾.
              35-pound weight throw—1, Christopher Jennings, 59-9 ¾; 3, Parker Gonser, 51-11 ¾.
              Long jump—1, Chayton Bynes, 24-1 ½. 
 
Women's Events
              Mile—1, Alissa Wieman, 5:17.91; 4, Lydia Peters, 5:26.78; 5. Samantha Rodewald, 5:31.27.
              3000—2, Alissa Wieman, 11:09.30; 5. Samantha Rodewald, 11:37.15; 6, Kyndall Carnahan, 11:43.52.
              60 hurdles—3. Riley Wiese, 9.87.
              Shot put—6. Morgan Ekwall, 37-3.
              20-pound weight throw—4, Ashlyn Tapio, 45-4 ¼; 6, Morgan Ekwall, 44-5 ¼. 
              Long jump—3, Camila Salvucci, 16-9 ¼.  
              High jump—3, Mataya Ward, 4-10 ½. 
              Pole vault—4, Madison Clause, 10-8.