As a standout decathlete and hurdler, Kimmel helping McMurry men’s track & field in the pursuit for continued ASC dominance
McMurry senior Kade Kimmel comes off a standout decathlon at the David Noble Relays in San Angelo last weekend, where he set a new PR in the event
ABILENE, Texas—Growing up, Kade Kimmel played just about everything; football, basketball, golf, track, he did it all. Such is life in Tuscola, Texas, where the population is 742. It formed a well-rounded athlete, one who is progressing through his senior year at McMurry as a key contributor to the Warhawks’ push for a fifth straight ASC men’s track & field title.
“If you were any bit athletic, you played just about every sport,” Kimmel, who starred at Jim Ned High School, said in an interview Thursday.
It has translated to what he’s done on the track over the last four years in Abilene. Athleticism built in sports like football and basketball certainly helps, especially when it comes to the decathlon, long-regarded as one of the most grueling–and difficult—events in track and field.
And it has been the decathlon that has grasped Kimmel’s focus since his sophomore year, when he made his debut in the event at the 2022 ASC Championships, posting a score of 4568. Now, as a senior, he comes off a performance at the David Noble Relays in San Angelo in which he finished as the top D-III competitor at the meet with a score of 5672.
“I had a coach in high school who always said something that stuck with me through all of the sports I played,” Kimmel noted. “It was just, ‘Embrace the suck.’ After that first day, when you’ve done five events and you know you’ve got to do five more tomorrow, embrace the suck, go out there, and try to do your best.”
Made up of 10 events, the decathlon requires speed, strength, athleticism, and grit. The 100 meters. Long jump. Shot put. High jump. 400 meters. 110 meter hurdles. Discus throw. Pole Vault. Javelin throw. 1500 meters. That’s the order of the events, ranging from speed-focused events to strength-focused ones. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that each athlete has individual strengths and weaknesses amongst the 10 events, creating entertaining scenarios on the leaderboard as the two-day decathlon unfolds.
“I’m not a great decathlete by any stretch,” Kimmel said humbly. “They say the first day is for your athletes and the second day is for your decathletes. So I really try to make sure I perform well on the first day to hang in there [on the second day]. At the David Noble Relays, you’re competing against a bunch of incredible D2 and D1 athletes. You can’t focus on what marks they’re chasing; you have to focus on your level and what you’re doing.”
Incredibly, Kimmel’s 5672 mark last weekend is the sixth-highest in Division III this spring, and the No. 1 mark for a student-athlete at a Lone Star State program. That would have been good enough for fourth-place at last year’s ASC Championships, and as most know, the training and tapering leading up to conference championships is quite different from the approach to a mid-season meet in early April. While there is plenty of work to be done for Kimmel to reach the podium at the ASC Championships at the end of this month, he is performing incredibly well.
What makes Kimmel’s story interesting is that he had no exposure to the decathlon prior to his arrival in Abilene, which meant he was forced to learn how to navigate the decathlon a little bit quicker.
“I didn’t do any summer track, so I didn’t really have aspirations of being a decathlete,” Kimmel said. “I had some knee injuries coming in from my freshman year of football, and I was a straight 400-meter runner, but never could shake [the injuries]. I wasn’t as fast as I was in high school. But I knew I could do the decathlon and be a good enough athlete to get points for the team at conference. I was just trying to be a team player. I talked to Coach about it, and he said, ‘Yeah, we can definitely throw you in it.’ I ended up liking it and just hung with it through my junior year and until now.”
The decathlon wasn’t the only event that was new to him as a sophomore, though. The 110-meter hurdles, arguably Kimmel’s strongest discipline of the 10 included in the decathlon, also offered a new experience that has resulted in plenty of success. Just this past weekend, he took first place in the decathlon’s 110-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 14.65 seconds. He also placed second amongst Division III athletes in the 110-meter hurdles event at the meet, outpaced only by DonTre Sinegal. And Sinegal happens to be the fastest D-III sprint hurdler in the country this season.
“We joke and say that we’re the ‘Hurdle U’ of our conference,” Kimmel said, referring to McMurry’s ability to develop talented hurdlers. “I never even touched a hurdle in high school. That sophomore year, when I did the decathlon, I broke 16 seconds [in the 110 hurdles]—I think I ran 15.99—and I remember how excited we were. I fell in love with them, and it just turned out that I wasn’t half bad at it.
“I’m fighting to qualify for the 110 hurdles open (not as part of the decathlon) for nationals. I have a great teammate who is No. 1 in the nation, and I’m chasing him. I’ve cut [my time] down from that 15.99 we were so excited about to a 14.4.”
Competing with and against Sinegal has certainly been challenging, Kimmel said, but fun at the same time. A respected teammate (and an athlete we plan to feature in a future newsletter), Sinegal has that invaluable effect of making others around him better as he continues to improve.
“He is the most humble and grateful person,” Kimmel noted, talking about Sinegal. “You would never know he is one of the craziest athletes in all of D-III track this year. He and I get along great, and he pushes me everyday. He’s a great teammate.”
Kimmel came to McMurry originally because of the unique opportunity to both play football and run track, but the 2020-21 football season was moved to the spring. It forced him to decide between playing on the gridiron or running track as a freshman, and he chose the latter of the two. He stuck with it, and this season, has put himself in the mix in the ASC decathlon, along with his teammate Shepherd Miller, the favorite to take the conference title after placing second a season ago. Not to mention the storyline of defending his spot on the podium in the 110-meter hurdles in his quest to compete at NCAAs.
He is one of several who have those high-level aspirations, and it is no coincidence that is the case. Under the leadership of head coach Cody Knight, McMurry continues to excel both in the ASC and on a national stage. The program emphasizes a “family-type atmosphere”, which certainly plays a role in the consistent level of success.
“I’m incredibly blessed to have been with this program for my four years here,” Kimmel said. “We really are a family. We’re incredibly close with each other and care about each other. McMurry is great at that. These will be lifelong memories, for sure.”
Texas D3s on a national stage | Two Texas programs set to take on the nation’s best at AVCA Small College Beach Championships this weekend
As beach volleyball continues to grow both nationally and within the state of Texas, the American Volleyball Coaches Association Small College Championship, now in its sixth year, continues to increase in popularity and competition level. And in this year’s edition, two teams from the Lone Star State make up the seven-team DIII field as No. 1 seed UMHB and No. 7 ETBU are prepared to battle the best in Tavares, Florida, starting Saturday.
UMHB has a chance to win the tournament for the first time in program history, as The Cru is in the midst of a historic year that includes a 22-4 record and a 9-0 mark against Division III opponents. Head coach Mark Pryor’s team is 8-1 in neutral site matches, and is led by Kendall Harrington and Gracie Nichols, who are 21-4 as a pair this season. Amongst The Cru’s most notable victories during the regular season were wins over Division I programs in Nicholls and Southwest Baptist. Additionally, UMHB has faced—and defeated—Huntingdon, ETBU, Hendrix, and Lynchburg already this season, which creates some familiarity with the D-III championship field in Tavares.
ETBU makes its second appearance at the AVCA Small College championships, as the second-year program has made significant strides this past season and enters with an 11-12 overall record. The Tigers are still seeking their first win over a D-III opponent this season, but with a young roster, have shown improvement over the course of the season and head to the Sunshine State with a two-match win streak.
UMHB opens pool play on Saturday by taking on Lynchburg followed by a match against Berry, who The Cru will face for the first time this season. ETBU battles Hendrix and Stevenson with one possible additional match as pool play wraps up.
Sunday will feature the championship rounds as the top two teams in each pool advance. The semifinal winners advance to the championship match, set for 1 p.m. ET.
Numbers of the Week
3 home runs for Concordia’s Kylie Kirk in the Tornadoes’ sweep of Ozarks last weekend. The freshman earned her second ASC Hitter of the Week Award as she went .583 at the plate and tallied seven RBIs in an outstanding performance.
6 games of 10+ strikeouts for Concordia baseball this season, with the most recent coming in a 6-0 victory last weekend over Ozarks in which Rowdy Hoadley struck out 10 batters in a complete-game performance. Hoadley allowed just two hits in the shutout.
27 straight batters retired by Texas Lutheran starting pitcher Brendan Beard, who tossed 10 innings in a complete-game performance against Schreiner last Friday. The 2-1 victory, which improved Beard to 4-0 on the year, saw the senior right-hander eclipse the career 200-strikeout mark. It marked the longest outing of his collegiate career, as Beard bounced back from a first inning that saw him give up three hits and a run to fire nine straight scoreless innings with just one hit allowed. That fourth—and final—hit of the game did not come until a 10th-inning base hit with two outs.
In the national polls/rankings
Baseball
ETBU: #5 (Perfect Game USA Top 25), #5 (D3baseball.com Top 25)
Trinity: #19 (Perfect Game USA Top 25), #14 (D3baseball.com Top 25)
Softball
ETBU: #4 (NFCA Top 25)
Women’s Tennis
Trinity: #11 (ITA Top 50, April 10)
Southwestern: #40 (ITA Top 50, April 10)
Men’s Tennis
Trinity: #7 (ITA Top 50, April 10)
Southwestern: #36 (ITA Top 50, April 10)
Men’s Track & Field (Top 5 Track & Field Ratings Index)
McMurry: #5 (USTFCCCA Ratings Index, Week 3)
Know of a friend, family member, or fan who is interested in Texas’ D3 sports scene? Please feel free to share this newsletter and help us reach more supporters of the Lone Star State’s D-III programs! Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter at @TXD3News. Have a great rest of your week!