MARYVILLE, Mo. - The Southwestern Community College track & field team continued its strong start to the season Saturday with four more school records and one meet record at the Northwest Open hosted by Northwest Missouri State University.
Spartan sophomore Justin Cunningham stole the show early with a blistering preliminary race in the 60 meter dash. Cunningham, facing a tough lane draw with no one to his outside, breezed his way to a time of 6.83 seconds in the prelims to break John Rivan's 2015 school record of 6.84 seconds. He won his preliminary race by .24 seconds and took the top qualifying time into finals of the event.
In finals, Cunningham had a strong start out of the blocks and then pulled away from the field 30 meters into the race. Cunningham crossed the finish line clear of any other competitors and turned to face the video board for results, dropping to his knees when his time of 6.77 seconds flashed on the screen. He was swarmed by teammates congratulating him. His time of 6.77 seconds tied the Northwest Open meet record and currently ranks him sixth in the NJCAA. Through four races in two meets this year, Cunningham remains undefeated in the 60 meter dash.
Later in the meet, Cunningham took more than 1 second off his indoor PR in the 200 meter dash, finishing fifth in 22.31 seconds. He concluded the meet by running down Truman State on the anchor leg of the 4x400 relay with a 51.4 split to help Southwestern win its heat in a time of 3:31.72 and finish ninth overall. Other members of the relay team were Robert Norton (51.9 split), Jonathon Hackett (54.2), and Chase Oates (54.0).
"Justin was an absolute machine for us on Saturday," said Scott Vicker, director of cross country/track & field. "We had this meet circled, knowing he would finally get some competition in the 60 meter dash that could better push him to his max potential. We finally got to see that in finals, and I still think he has room to go lower with his time. I'm super proud of how he ran the 4x400. He hasn't run that distance since his second meet as a Spartan back in 2021. For him to run as well as he did, after having already run three races, is a testament to how hard he has worked and how much he has bought into my vision for him. He wouldn't have been able to handle that kind of workload in a meet last year, so he has come a long way."
Oates had a big day for the Spartan men, as well. He started off by taking 8 seconds off his own PR in the mile, and breaking the school record by more than 4 seconds, with his time of 4:32.29. The previous record was set in 2020 by Collin Shreve. Oates, a freshman from Columbia Heights, Minnesota, came back shortly after to win his heat of the 800 meters in 2:03.03, which ranks him fifth on Southwestern's all-time indoor performance list.
"Chase executed his race plan in both races to perfection," Vicker said. "We're just getting started with Chase. He's only going to continue to improve, and his range of events is impressive. He can help the team in a multitude of ways."
Sophomore Conrad Schroeder of Alvo, Nebraska, improved his school record mark in the weight throw with a best throw of 11.58 meters. Freshman Ben Olson finished fifth in the men's long jump and improved his collegiate PR to 6.53 meters, which ranks him fourth in program history. Hackett posted a time of 52.85 in the 400 meter dash, which ranks him seventh in program history. Sophomore Alex Bates of Chariton ran PRs in both the 60 hurdles and the 400 meter dash.
For the Spartan women, sophomore Molly Venteicher continued her string of dominance. Venteicher ended the day by shattering her own school record in the shot put with a throw of 13.20 meters (43 feet, 3.75 inches) in finals. Venteicher, who added nearly 1 meter to her indoor PR last week at Central, added 62 cm to that mark this week. She entered finals with a best throw on the day of 12.53 meters and then proceeded to throw past the NJCAA outdoor nationals qualifying standard of 12.70 meters on all three of her throws in finals. She finished third overall in the event, and now ranks sixth in the NJCAA nationally.
Venteicher, the reigning NJCAA Women's Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week, also went over 15 meters for the second straight week in the weight throw, finishing eight with a best throw of 15.02 meters. She is one of only two women in the country to have qualified for nationals in both throwing events so far this season.
"Molly struggled with her footing on the plywood throwing surface in the weight throw Saturday. It was making it difficult for her to get her body set to provide the proper amount of power on her throws. I was happy for her to get over 15 meters on a day where she didn't have her best stuff," Vicker said. "She got it figured out for the shot put, though. She was lights out in that event. She is proving she is one of the most well-rounded throwers in the NJCAA."
The Spartan women had a day full of improvements and PRs. Freshman Malori Leonard improved her weight throw by 76 cm with a mark of 10.21 meters. Freshman Kyla Holm had PRs in both the long jump and the 200 meter dash. Sophomore Parker Evans, in her first season of track & field, improved her 60 meter dash time to 8.82 seconds, which is 13th in program history, and debuted in the 200 meter dash, where she ran 29.87, good enough for 11th in program history.
Southwestern returns to the track Saturday at the Grinnell Invite. Field events begin at 9:30 a.m., with running events starting at 11:30 a.m.
