Con Marshall
The Chadron State College track and field team knows Chayton Bynes, already a three-time All-American in the triple jump, is assured of qualifying in that event at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships that will take place May 21-23 at Emporia, Kan., but more than a dozen other Eagles also will have the opportunity to this weekend to also make that trip while competing at “last chance” meets.
Bynes, a junior from Chadron, is fourth on the men’s triple jump list with a leap of 51 feet, 7 ¼ inches while the top 22 qualifiers in each individual event will make up of the national meet participants. So there’s no need for him to compete again before nationals, CSC Coach Jake Gruver said.
All the other Eagles will need to have their career-best marks in order to qualify, but Gruver said their marks are good enough that they deserve that opportunity.
Those competing include sophomore Courtney Williams, who will make his bid in the decathlon at Azusa Pacific University in California Thursday and Friday. He finished second in the event at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Meet with 6,734 points and will probably need to tally nearly 7,000 to qualify, Gruver said. Just 15 entries are taken in the decathlon and the relays.
All the other CSC contestants will compete at Concordia University in Seward on Friday and the University of Nebraska at Kearney on Saturday. They include Tavion Leatherdale, the winner of the discus at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Meet, four women in a variety of the throws and men’s teams in both the 4×100 and 4×400 relays.
