Keehn claims MIAA Indoor Championship in 5000 meters Saturday

Fort Hays State University senior distance runner Cory Keehn won the 5000-meter run at the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday in Warrensburg, Mo. He helped the Tigers sit in sixth place in the team standings after two days of competition.Keehn and teammate Jonny Bernasky generated 16 team points in the 5000 meters. Keehn won the race in a time of 14:45.41, while Bernasky placed third in a time of 14:59.20.

Michael Kinuthia were also bright spots for the Tigers. Kinuthia topped the prelim field in the 800-meter run. He covered the distance in 1:53.67 to qualify for the finals on Sunday. Nate Simpson finished fifth in the prelims of the 60-meter hurdles in a personal-best provisional qualifying time of 8.27 seconds. Cory Post also produced two team points for the Tigers in the heptathlon, finishing with 4,608 points.

The distance medley team of Nathan Purdue, CJ Wilson, Michael Kinuthia and Ryan Hopkins finished fifth to produce four team points for FHSU in the final event of Saturday. The team ran a time of 10:24.13.

FHSU has 22 team points after Saturday’s competition, tied with Emporia State for sixth. Pittsburg State leads the way with 59 points, followed by Central Missouri with 34.