Cooper Palmer secured a runner-up finish in the men’s 10,000-meter run for the University of Central Missouri Track & Field team on May 1 during the opening day of the MIAA Outdoor Championships at Russ Jewett Outdoor Track & Field Complex in Pittsburg, Kansas.
Palmer, a redshirt senior from Leeton, Missouri, recorded a time of 29:59.03 to claim second place. His performance was one of several notable results for Central Missouri athletes as competition began.
In field events, Landon Mason finished fourth in the men’s hammer throw with a personal best mark of 61.52 meters (201-10), which is ninth-best in school history. In women’s long jump, Kristen Jones placed sixth with a leap of 5.86 meters (19-2.75), Michenainda Aritus was seventh at 5.84 meters (19-2.00), and Lauren Welch took eighth with her personal best mark of 5.74 meters (18-10.00).
After day one of multi-events, Owen Koski stands fourth and Spencer Nunn eighth after six events completed in the men’s decathlon; Kristen Jones is fourth and Marah Klover seventh through four events in the women’s heptathlon.
On the track preliminaries side, Grizell Scarlett and Emily Meeks both advanced to Sunday’s women’s 100-meter dash final—Scarlett leading all qualifiers with a provisional time of 11.43 seconds and Meeks finishing ninth at 11.94 seconds. Ariel Kerr made it to the men’s final after placing third in his heat with a provisional time of 10.43 seconds.
Yunus Altinay and Connor McKee moved on to compete for medals in Sunday’s men’s 400-meter hurdles final; Altinay’s fifth-place preliminary finish came with a personal best time that ranks sixth-fastest ever for Central Missouri at this distance (52.24 seconds). Kendall Gray will represent Jennies in Sunday’s women’s hurdles final after qualifying seventh (1:04:58). Kye Mason also earned his spot by finishing ninth among men’s quarter-milers (48:09).
All finals are scheduled for Sunday, May 3 as competition continues through Saturday.
