RedTails Finish 10th at the 2021 NJCAA Indoor National Championship
The RedTails were on the road Friday, March 5, at Pittsburg State University. They set personal and season records while also setting new school records.
Kylee Neighbors and Margaret Nielsen kicked off the meet in the women's pentathlon. The first event in the Pent was the 60-meter dash where both Neighbors and Nielsen opened with indoor PRs. In high jump Neighbors finished fourth and Nielsen finished 15th in an event that is fairly new to her. Neighbors finished sixth and Nielsen 11th in shot put both of which were PRs for the both of them. They continued their personal PRs in long jump and season best in the Pent 800 meter dash. Overall Neighbors closed the event in ninth place and Nielsen in 13th.
This was Neighbors and Nielsen's first Pentathlon and coach Tyler Mulder was impressed with their performances, saying, "I am proud of how quickly both athletes picked up their new event. With more practice they have bright futures to keep with it and finish even higher outdoors for the women's Heptathlon!"
The women sit number two and three in program history.
In the women's 800m final Ryan Portch ran 2 minutes and 20.87 seconds to finish sixth and Kaylee Leicht who finished with a time of 2:22.76 and grabbed the last All American spot. Both ladies set indoor PRs and school records holding number one and two in program history.
For the distance medley relay Portch, Maddy Lenaerts, Sophie Spargur, and Kylee Leicht fished with a time of 12:54.71 to take All American Status and set a new school record.
Emma Drake, Spargur, Leicht, and Portch ran the 4x800-meter relay, having a podium finish of third place and a school record time of 9:49:37.
Kylee Neighbors finished sixth overall and set a new PR of 5-3 ΒΌ, a new school record.
Coach Mulder had great things to say about the team. "Overall they finished higher than their team ranking and showed they are a top 10 team in the nation! I'm very excited to see what these ladies can do as we transition into the outdoor season as nearly everyone set personal best in the indoor season! "
The RedTails will finally welcome their outdoor season on Friday, March 26, at the Jim Duncan invite in Des Moines, Iowa.