3/26 Men's & Women's Track

Mar. 26, 2001

Kingery Takes First At Vernon Kennedy Decathlon

While the majority of the Bulldog track & field athletes braved the blustery conditions at Augustana (Ill.), sophomore Jake Kingery (Monroe, Iowa/Prairie City-Monroe) and freshman Jackie McDuffey (Pineville, Mo./McDonald County) competed in Warrensburg, Mo., at the Vernon Kennedy Decathlon/Heptathlon.

Kingery, who last year placed fifth in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association decathlon, earned an NCAA Division II provisional qualification and took first place on Saturday with a point total of 6,558 to outdistance second-place Aaron Crossley of CMSU by 23. Kingery's best event in Friday and Saturday's competition was the javelin, in which he placed first with a throw of 178'-4". He also placed second in the 400-meter dash and high jump and was third in the shot put and 1,500-meter run.

McDuffey was fourth after the opening day of the heptathlon, but performed on Day 2 while battling illness and ended up ninth overall. Her best events were the 100-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash, in which she placed second.