Wildcats Earn Two Medals, Break School Record at 2026 Heart Outdoor Championships
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Behind a record-setting effort in the men's 4x800-meter relay and two podium performances, Baker track and field pieced together a strong weekend at the 2026 Heart Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Overall, the Wildcats came in 12th in the team standings on the women's side, while the men finished in 13th.
Haylei Potter claimed runner-up honors in the women's pole vault, clearing the bar in her first two jumps of the day before bowing out at 2.93 meters. The silver medal caps a strong debut season for the freshman from Burlington, Kan., who had a top-four finish in the pole vault at the Heart Indoor Championships.
Julie Coffey reached the podium in Cedar Rapids after taking third in the women's javelin. She marked a throw of 40.56 meters to improve on her eighth-place showing from last year's conference outdoor meet. The senior from Indianola, Iowa, also took eighth in the shot put with a personal-best mark of 11.90 meters.
The BU men's 4x800-meter relay team - Jacob McGlasson, Luke Persson, Micah Sanders and Cutter Meade - broke the school record with a time of 7:50.51 and finished in seventh. The time barely cleared the program's previous-best mark, which was set by Eric Larson, Taylor Nall, Aaron Caldwell and Jeremy Bryan (7:50.92) at the 2013 Kansas Relays.
In the men's javelin, freshman Dylan Triebel earned a top-five mark after recording his best throw of the season at 50.89 meters to place fifth. Jace Woodard went 12.74 meters and took eighth in the triple jump.
Haley Carter came away with a couple of eighth-place finishes in the distance races, recording career-best times in both the 5K (18:48.73) and 10K (39:23.78). Natalie Kennedy took seventh in the 800m on a time of 2:23.74.
Kennedy joined Samantha Slife, Rylee Lansdown, and Aubrey Phillips as the BU women's 4x800m relay team that ran a 10:27.05 and took eighth.
Rodree Robinson shaved a full three seconds off of his fastest 800m time this season, clocking a 1:55.62, which placed him seventh in the event.
Baker will put a bow on its 2026 regular season with a last-chance meet this weekend as a group of Wildcats will compete at the Pitt State Last Chance Meet on May 9-10 in Pittsburg, Kan.
Currently, the Wildcats have one national qualifier in Coffey, who secured her spot in the javelin for the second straight year. The 2026 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships will take place on May 20-22 in Asheville, N.C.
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