HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State will be hosting the 23rd annual Alex Francis Classic at the brand new FHSU Track and Field Facility on Friday (Mar. 31). The college meet moved up to Friday from its original scheduled date of Saturday, while the high school portion was canceled earlier in the week.
A final adjustment was made on Thursday to the schedule of field events. The events will be split into three separate venues. The jumping events will be held at noon at the field inside the new facility to kick off the day. The javelin and shot put events were relocated to Hays High School, also starting at noon. Discus will also be held there, starting at 1:30 p.m. The final change made was to the hammer throw, which will take place at the old Fort Hays State Intramural Fields just beyond the Tiger Stadium (softball field) outfield fence, beginning at 3:30 p.m.
The Tigers have several standout athletes competing in the event. Leading the pack are 2017 NCAA Indoor Track and Field All-Americans Dillando Allotey and Brett Meyer, as well as national qualifier Decano Cronin. Allotey will be running in the 100-meter dash on Friday, while Meyer will compete in the 400-meter run. Cronin will be competing in the 800-meter run as well as the 400-meters.
The only outdoor provisional mark for the FHSU men so far belongs to pole vaulter Sam Dreiling. Dreiling hit the qualifying mark at the Tigers’ only outdoor competition so far when he vaulted 15 feet, 11 inches at the ESU Spring Twilight on March 17.
Tiger women to watch on Friday are Kelly Wycoff and Alexcia Deutscher, both with provisional marks on the year, as well as 2016 All-American Estefania Lopez. Wycoff started the outdoor season hitting national qualifying marks in both the 100 meters (11.98) and 200 meters (24.47), while Deutscher hit her mark in the javelin throw with a toss of 145 feet, 1 inch at the ESU Spring Twilight on March 17. Lopez, who has yet to throw this season, is a two-time All-American for FHSU in the javelin and also holds the program record with a throw of 173 feet, 8 inches.
Below is a list of all teams competing:
Fort Hays State
McPherson (Kan.) College
Pratt (Kan.) Community College
Nebraska-Kearney
Northwest Kansas Tech
Dodge City (Kan.) Community College
Colorado College