TOPEKA, Kan. – University of Central Missouri Track & Field opened its 2025-26 season with a stellar performance at the Washburn University Alumni Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 6, inside the Washburn Indoor Athletic Facility.

The Mules and Jennies tallied a combined 13 NCAA Division II provisional marks and broke two school records on the day.

Sprints/Hurdles

• Nolan Vancauwemberghe and Parker Wormek both recorded NCAA-II provisional marks in the men's 60m hurdles prelims. Vancauwemberghe ran a school record time of 7.76 to win the prelim while Wormek was third with a time of 8.00. Both qualified for the final, where Vancauwemberghe (7.76) and Wormek (8.00) finished second and third, respectively. Vancauwemberghe's prelim time is the fastest in NCAA Division II in 2025-26.
• Grizell Scarlett shattered the school record in the women's 60m dash, running a provisional and personal best time of 7.40 in the final to win the event. The previous school record was 7.59, set by Elise Johnson in 2007. Her time is the second-fastest in NCAA Division II this season. Scarlett also excelled in the 200m dash, clocking the second-fastest time in school history at 24.44 to place third. Her time in the 200m is an indoor personal best and ranks fourth in Division II this season.
• Grant Mohler, Gracious Ushie, and Ariel Kerr all earned spots in the men's 60m dash final after finishing 2-3-6 in the prelim. Mohler clocked the third-fastest time in school history with a provisional 6.73 to place second, Ushie was third with a time of 6.74, and Kerr was sixth with a provisional time of 6.78. Ushie went on to win the final, posting a provisional time of 6.70, which is second-fastest in school history and tied for second-fastest in Division II this season.
• Rawley Chard won the men's 400m dash, running a provisional time of 47.34, while freshman Jensen Schrickel secured a top-five performance, placing fourth with a personal best time of 48.87 (10th-fastest in indoor school history).
• Emily Meeks finished runner-up in the women's 400m dash with a personal best time of 57.15, which is 10th-fastest in indoor school history.

Distance

• Brady Maher clocked a time of 4:24.32 to finish fifth in the men's mile.

Jumps

• Zachary Proctor and Wyatt Irwin tied for fourth in the men's high jump. Proctor and Irwin both cleared a provisional height of 2.04m (6-08.25).
• In the women's long jump, freshman Michenainda Aritus finished first after posting a provisional and personal-best mark of 5.99m (19-08.00). Her mark is third-best in indoor school history.
• The Jennies went 2-3 in the women's pole vault. Sydnie Bernard was runner-up, clearing a provisional and personal best height of 3.55m (11-07.75) while Haley Sexton was third, also clearing a provisional and personal best 3.55m (11-07.75). Sexton cleared her opening height of 3.40m on her second attempt, while Bernard cleared the height on her first attempt for the tie-breaking results. Bernard and Sexton's marks tie for the eighth-best in indoor school history.
• The Mules were 2-5 in the men's pole vault. Landon Childs finished second, clearing a provisional and personal-best height of 4.85m (15-11.00), and Karter Kueser was fifth with a personal best 4.60m (15-01.00).

Throws

• The Jennies had three top-five performers in the women's shot put. Madison Mears won the event with a provisional mark of 13.84m (45-05.00), Briley Wishard was third with a personal best 13.34m (43-09.25), and Alyssah Price was fourth with a mark of 13.29m (43-07.25).
• The Mules were second and fourth in the men's weight throw. Landon Mason finished runner-up with a mark of 17.84m (58-06.50), and Shon Stark was fourth with a mark of 17.39m (57-00.75).

Relays

• The Jennies' 4x400m relay of Kylee Terry, Emily Meeks, Grizell Scarlett, and Anayla Waters finished second with a time of 3:52.49.
• The Mules' 4x400m relay of Kye Mason, Yunus Altinay, Jensen Schrickel and Rawley Chard placed third with a provisional time of 3:14.13.

Palmer Competes at Prestigious Boston University Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener

• The Mules' Cooper Palmer competed in the prestigious Boston University Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener on Saturday in Boston, Mass. In a field that featured some of the top runners in both collegiate and professional athletics, Palmer posted an indoor personal-best and provisional time of 14:10.16 in the men's 5,000m run, which is second-fastest in school history.

UCM Track & Field is back in action Sunday, Dec. 7, and Monday, Dec. 8, with several multi-event student-athletes competing at the Happy Holidays Multi Meet in Crete, Neb.