Five Mustangs qualify for nationals in season opener

DAVENPORT, Iowa -- Five Mustangs hit national qualifying marks in the first indoor meet of the season on Saturday at the Finals Week Invitational hosted by St. Ambrose.

Bre Nail, a national qualifier for Mount Mercy last season, hit an automatic qualifying mark and won the shot put with a distance of 13.79m. Joining her with an NAIA "A" distance in the long jump was teammate Brooklyn Johnson, who also was an event champion with a leap of 5.78m.

For the men, Keegan Thomspon reached the NAIA "B" standard with a school-record time of :06.87 and a runner-up finish in the 60-meter dash. Caleb Rutherford finished sixth in the shot put and qualified with a 15.49m throw, while Mitch Miller, also a national qualifier a year ago, placed fourth in the weight throw with an NAIA "B" qualifying mark of 16.45m.

Other event winners at St. Ambrose were former national qualifier Luke Nickelson in the triple jump (13.83m) and Annie Leopold in the 60-meter hurdles (:09.34). Runner-up finishers included the women's 4x400 meter relay squad (Leopold, Aleksyia LeClere, Katie Garner, Johnson/4:23.72), Sergio Lizarraga in the 3,000 meters (8:45.10), the men's 4x400 meter relay team (Thompson, Nate Keiper, Omar Holness, Jordan Schroeder/3:27.06), and Nickelson in the long jump (6.86m).

Mount Mercy will be back at it in January when the Mustangs head to Waverly for the Chelsea Henekenius Triangular hosted by Wartburg on Jan. 14 at 10:00 am.