The regular season concluded for the Spartan Track & Field teams last Friday with the Viking Classic hosted by Grand View University. Serving as the final tune-up before the Region XI Championships, the Spartans had several outstanding marks.

For the men, Freshman Tyrell Paul (Ajax, ON, Canada) won the men's 400m dash with a personal best time of 48.12. Paul's run qualified him to compete in the 400m dash at the NJCAA Championships to be held later this month. Paul was also a member of the 4 x 100m relay team of Mat Hopkins (Bloomfield), Seth Starks (Springfield, NE), and Isaiah Cubit (Liberty, MO) 43.34.

For the women, Sophomore Lastella Slack (Fort Madison) won the javelin throw with a distance of 27.85m. The 4 x 100m relay team of Kylie Bidrowski (Clarinda), Charlie Buddenhagen (New Virginia), Rachel Flickenger (St. Charles), and Sabrina Fountain (Raytown, MO) won in a time of 50.88 seconds.

"Today was a good day for our track team. As a whole, we were able to accomplish a lot of good things in our events which will help our performance next weekend at the Region Meet," Said Coach Ekel. "I was especially proud of the race that Tyrell Paul ran in the 400m. He has been making incremental improvements in practice, and today he put everything together to qualify himself for the national championship."

The Track & Field team will travel to Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs for the Region XI Championships to be held on Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8. Follow Spartan Track & Field on Twitter at @SWCC_Track_XC for updates.