On Jan. 28, The Indiana University Kokomo men and women’s track and field teams travelled to Taylor University in Upland, IN for the Trojan Invitational.  

In total, the teams broke 12 records and set 39 individual personal records.  

Both teams were up against nationally ranked teams Taylor and Huntington University, making the meet even more of a challenge for the Cougars.  

But that did not scare them.  

On the women’s side, freshman Taylor Roesler finished first in pole vault clearing a height of 2.87m. Sophomore Makala Pfefferkorn impressed again by breaking the school record in the 60-meter hurdles, running a 9.16.  Senior Emma Byrum finished second and broke a school record in shot put with a 12.05m throw, and freshman Faith Rock claimed third with 11.91m.  

Freshman Leslie Sprankles showed up in all her events for the day, breaking three records total: finishing 4th place in the 600-meter run with 1:46.69, 3:17.20 in the 1000-meter run, and as a part of the 4×800-meter relay team consisting of senior Casey Pfefferkorn, sophomore Isabelle Altic, and freshman Joy McDivitt with a winning time of 10:28.51. 

“I’m really happy with my individual performances,” said Sprankles. “I haven’t ran those distances before and I didn’t know what to expect, so it was really exciting to break the records.” 

She feels that the women’s team performed well, even considering the depth of the competition.  

“It was great watching everyone PR and seeing their hard work pay off.” She added. 

Sprankles looks forward to the upcoming outdoor season, as she expects even more improvement for the teams and anticipates big accomplishments.  

On the men’s side, senior Julian Wallace led the way, winning both the 600-meter run and the triple jump events with 1:24.29 and 12.74m, respectively. His jump also broke the school record. Teammate Jake Cooper was right behind, placing second in the triple jump with 11.99m.  

Freshman Gabe Wedmore hit 13.20m in the weight throw, claiming the school record and third place. He also placed third in the shot put with 14.13m. 

Sophomore Nolan Talley set the school record in high jump with 1.85m, finishing second overall. Talley also placed second in the 60-meter hurdles with 9.08.  

Junior Luis Saldana ran 16:21.42 in the 5000-meter run, breaking the school record. Sophomore Drew Caldwell broke the record in the 1000-meter run with 2:40.21, also placing fifth overall. 

Senior Cyrus Felger placed 4th in the 3000-meter race and broke the school record with 9:05.55. He also broke the record in the mile with 4:36.32, finishing eighth.  

“I like where I’m at right now,” said Felger. “It’s reassuring that the hard work is paying off and I’m looking forward to trying to take that time down even further.” 

Head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach Josh Colvin feels that the team is making history with their nonstop progress. 

“We had several outstanding performances against teams that are ranked top 30 in the nation,” Colvin said. “We are setting ourselves up to do well at our conference meet in a few weeks.” 

The indoor Track & Field season will conclude after two additional meets with the River States Conference Indoor Championships on Feb. 18 in Logan, OH. Follow the Cougars achievements as they approach the outdoor season on iukcougars.com.