Track and field school records set at Chadron and Wayne State

Chadron State senior Brandon Harrington set a school record of 49-feet, 7-inches Saturday while winning the triple jump at the University of Colorado Invitational Track and Field Meet this weekend.
Harrington, who also won the long jump, got the school record on his final jump. The old mark of 49-3 was set by Derrick Murphy in 2003. Harrington’s previous best, which was good for second on the Chadron State list was 49-2 ½ feet.
Saturday’s jump ranks among the top eight in NCAA Division II so far this season and provisionally qualifies the Grand Island Northwest High School graduate for the Division II National Outdoor Meet.
Harrington’s winning long jump measured 22-8, about a foot shy of his career best, but good enough to win over 20 other entries at the University of Colorado Meet. The competition included all four of the Division I teams from the state of Colorado and the University of Wyoming.
Chadron State also earned two more wins Saturday. Cody Hunt won men’s the shot put with a throw of 54-6 and Julia Bayer won the women’s triple jump by going 37-4 ½.
Wayne State’s Nate Preston reached a provisional national qualifying mark in the 3,000 meter steeplechase while Cody Diehl set a new school record in the men’s decathlon for the Wayne State men’s outdoor track and field team at the Nebraska Invitational held Saturday at Ed Weir Stadium at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. Preston’s mark was at the Nebraska Invite while Diehl competed at the Emporia State Open Men’s Decathlon in Emporia, Kansas Thursday and Friday.