JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Baptist University men's track & field team is hitting its stride just under a month into the outdoor season and showed out at this weekend's Lincoln University Open in Jefferson City. Between senior
Mayson DeRousse and sophomore
Donovan Denslow, the Spartans won three events including the pole vault, 800-meter run and 1500-meter run.
DeRousse, who already has a 'B' standard in the decathlon, officially punched his ticket to the 2022 NAIA Men's Outdoor Track & Field National Championships with a new career best in the pole vault. The De Soto, Mo. senior impressively cleared 4.87m on his first try to take first out of 13 competitors. DeRousse now ranks third nationally (NAIA) in the event.
A week after running the 10,000-meter at the WashU Distance Carnival, Denslow flipped the switch for a pair of mid-distance events and grabbed two first-place finishes and PRs in the process. His first gold came in the 1500-meter run where he cracked the four-minute barrier for the first time – 3:59.42 – followed by the 800-meter run with a time of 1:57.68. Denslow now owns the AMC's top time in the 800, 1500 and 10000.
In the men's long jump, the Spartans had two place in the top five including unattached athlete
Steven McFeders (6.21m) in fourth and
Camden Woolbright in fifth with a new PR of 6.20m.
Other notable Top 10 finishes:
- Jordan Walker-Wright finished eighth out of 22 in the javelin with a PR of 39.52m
- JP Killian PRed in the 800-meter run (2:03.91) to finish 10th out of 41
- Keon Graham cracked 1-flat in 400-meter hurdles (59.82) for the first time in his career and finished eighth overall
- Ian Lee Heung finished sixth out of 12 in the triple jump – 12.56m
Up next for MBU is Central Missouri Mule Relays on Friday, April 15. Live results for the event will be available on
TRXC Timing.
