Wichita, Kan.— USM T&F had another strong showing over Easter weekend in Wichita at the Friends University 2026 Spring Invitational.

Emily Struckman would start the Spire women out strong with a 7^th place finish in the hammer throw, going up against 31 competing athletes. Struckman's final mark was an impressive 45.52m.

On the men's side, USM would have three Spires placing in the top ten in the hammer throw as well. Jeremey Shreve would rank top amongst the Spires this weekend. Shreve would chuck a final mark of 46.79m for an 8^th place finish. Following right behind would be Nolan Norberto in 9^th place with a final throw of 46.07m, finishing just in front of the 10^th place Spire, Robert Hennig with a mark of 43.24m—an overall impressive day for the USM throwers.

Moving on to the highly anticipated track events, the men's 4x100 team would make their speedy bid for 5^th place overall out of nine competing teams. The USM men would fly to the finish with a final time of 42.15 seconds.

Deslyne Cooper would continue to shine this weekend, carrying on her momentum to the women's 400m race. Des would finish 2^nd overall out of twenty-five competitors, with an eye catching 56.43 final mark. This would punch her ticket to the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships next month in Asheville, North Carolina and now moves her up the rankings to #9 in the NAIA in the 400m.

Jordyn Miller-Knuckles would add to her weekend as well in the women's 100m hurdles, coming in 5^th place overall with a final time of 14.63 seconds.

Spire record holder in the men's 110m hurdles, Omarion Udell, would finish in the top five in his shinning event. Omarion would grind out a 4^th place finish with a final time of 14.73 seconds.
Keiyah Cole had a strong outing this weekend in the women's 100m sprint. Cole would come in 6^th overall with a final mark of 12.39 seconds.

The men's 400m hurdles would see two Spires place in the top ten this weekend. Owen Dierenfeldt would earn a strong 4^th place finish with a final time of 57.24 seconds. Teammate Edward Dennis would finish close behind in 7^th place overall with a final time of 58.46 seconds.

Keiyah Cole would continue strong in the women's 200m sprint. Cole would bring home a 9^th place finish out of twenty-five athletes with a final finish of 25.13 seconds.

The Spires will get right back into it at the UCM Invite this upcoming Thursday, April 9^th through Friday the 10^th hosted by the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg.