Thompson, Nickelson, Scheckel claim major awards, Mustangs finish second at Heart indoor championships
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- After a weekend filled with incredible performances at the 2024 Heart of America Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships, Mount Mercy counted three major awards and a runner-up finish for the team at the event held at Hughes Fieldhouse.
Keegan Thompson, who tied for the most points scored by a male athlete at the event, was named the Track Athlete of the Meet. He competed in four events, setting school records and hitting NAIA automatic qualifying marks in all four. Thompson won the 200 meter dash and his time of :21.45 was a conference record. He also placed second in the 400 meters (:48.12), 60 meters (:06.77), and helped the 4x400 meter relay squad finish runner-up in 3:17.04.
Luke Nickelson was named Field Athlete of Meet for the second year in a row. He took the triple jump title while hitting the NAIA's automatic qualifying standard with a leap of 14.56 meters. Nickelson also placed third in the long jump (6.93m) and fourth in the high jump (1.97m).
Mount Mercy's Ryan Scheckel was named the Heart Men's Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year after leading the Mustangs to a runner-up finish, just 1-1/2 points behind Benedictine.
Mitch Miller also brought home an indoor title in the weight throw, winning the event with a distance of 16.90 meters.
The battle for the team title went to Benedictine, who edged Mount Mercy, 133.5 to 132. The top five also included William Penn (110), Central Methodist (106.5), and Grand View (72).
Heart Indoor Track & Field Championship Honors
First-Team All-Conference:
Keegan Thompson (200m/:21.45/conference record)
Luke Nickelson (triple jump/14.56m)
Mitch Miller (weight throw/16.90m)
Second-Team All-Conference:
Keegan Thompson (60m/:06.77, 400m/:48.12)
Ceondae Adams (60m hurdles/:08.16)
Ryan Clancy (mile run/4:20.10, 5,000m/15:07.17)
4x400 meter relay (Jordan Schroeder, Nate Keiper, Ceondae Adams, Keegan Thompson/3:17.04)
Third-Team All-Conference:
Luke Nickelson (long jump/6.93m)
Caleb Rutherford (shot put/14.97m)
Honorable Mention All-Conference:
Breon Wade (4th/60m/:06.84)
Jordan Schroeder (4th/400m/:49.34, 5th/600m/1:22.37)
Ryan Clancy (5th/3,000m/8:52.19)
Luke Nickelson (4th/high jump/1.97m)
Omar Salinas (6th/shot put/14.23m)
Caleb Rutherford (6th/weight throw/15.99m)
4x800 meter relay (Brady Cortez, Ty Costigan, Nathan Skala, Quinn Swift/4th/8:04.48)
Distance medley relay (Brady Cortez, Chris Canas, Ty Costigan, Lukas Lamparek/5th/10:44.35)