YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Several facility and meet records were broken on Saturday on the first day of the Horizon League indoor track and field championships at the Watson and Tressell Training Site on the campus of Youngstown State University.
In all, six Horizon League records fell and seven new WATTS records were set, including four student-athletes who broke both marks.
The first to break set a pair of new records was Milwaukee senior Garrett Vetesnik, who took first place in the men's pole vault competition with a 5.06m height. The old Horizon League mark of 4.90m had been set in 2009 by UIC's Mike Savegnago.
Nearly simultaneously to Vetesnik's feat, Loyola junior James McLachlan set new facility and meet records while winning the long jump with a 7.58m leap. McLachlan broke his own Horizon League record of 7.57m, which he set during the preliminary round of last year's championship.
Fellow Rambler Candice Carajohn also set WATTS and Horizon League records with a 6.05m long jump. Carajohn broke the old conference mark of 5.93m set by Milwaukee's Reigna Pierce in 2011.
The final dual-record-setting performance came in the prelims of the women's 200m, when Youngstown State junior Ciara Jarrett broke her own 24.68 mark from last year's championship with a 24.48 finish.
Detroit junior Eric Lewis set a new WATTS record while winning the men's weight throw with a 19.28m distance. Two men's runners set records in the prelims: Youngstown State's Michael Davis set the Horizon League record (6.81) in the 60m and Loyola's Kevin Glastetter set the WATTS mark (48.36) in the 400m. Milwaukee senior Sarah Finer set a new Horizon League mark with a 3.81m pole vault.
Other finals winners on Saturday night included Loyola sophomore Sam Penzenstadler and senior Gina Valgoi, who swept the 5,000m runs. Both were also individual champions at last fall's Horizon League cross country championships in Kenosha, Wis.
The Ramblers squad also won the men's distance medley relay (10:11.98), but cross-town rival UIC took the women's DMR title (11:57.43).
Milwaukee junior Nancy Harmon won the women's weight throw title with a 17.38m toss.
In the women's pentathlon, Milwaukee's Shelby Schaal repeated as champion, scoring 3,500 points. Fellow Panther Dan Simon leads the heptathlon with 2,870 points after four events (60m, LJ, SP, HJ) with the final three events (60mH, PV, 1000m) kicking off the action tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. EST.
Also on the docket for Sunday: high jump, triple jump, shot put, mile run, 60m hurdles, 400m, 60m, 800m, 200m, 3,000m and the 4x400m relay.
