Track and Field Opens Indoor Season

INDIANAPOLIS--Five of seven track and field programs opened their indoor season over the weekend. UIC and Milwaukee will begin their seasons Jan. 10 and Jan. 17, respectively.

YSU Icebreaker
The Youngstown State Track and Field teams started their 2013-2014 indoor season this Friday afternoon hosting the YSU Icebreaker at the WATTS.  Many newcomers had strong debuts for the program at the event.

Freshman Chenera Lacey started her college campaign off strong by winning the women's high jump with a jump of 1.71 meters tying the WATTS record.
For the women's shot put, sophomore Jennifer Neider took the first place spot with a throw of 13.82m and Jayne Corbett was another freshman who took the advantage to start her college career off strong to finish with a third place finish with a throw of 13.02m.

In the 400 meter run YSU had two top five finishers with sophomore Jen Shiley winning it with a time of 57.95 and senior Alteeka Vanwright finishing in fourth place at a time of 59.10.

Alexis Cooper finished second (2:20.54) in the 800 meter run missing first place by .34 seconds and in the 60 meter hurdles Lacey finished third (9.06) and right behind her was freshman Sage Spotleson with a fourth place finish (9.14).

In the 60 meter dash senior Alexis Washington finished second at a time of 7.81 Alexis Washington added another second place in the 200m dash (25.60).
Senior Samantha Hamilton and freshman McKinsie Klim finished in the top five in the 3000m run, Hamilton finished second (9:41) and Klim finished fourth (10:41). YSU's 4x400m team consisting of Jen Shiley, Vanwright, Alexis Washington and Alexis Cooper finished second with a time of 4:02.

For the men sophomore Jay Jakovina finished strong in the high jump finishing first with a jump of 2.04m while sophomore Connor Neu had a throw of 18.97 meters in the weight throw to take control and finish in first place as well. Fellow senior Bobby Grace also took first place in the shot put with a toss of 18.22m.

Freshman William Royal was a part of the top freshman finishers for YSU placing third in the triple jump (13.72m) and in the long jump with a jump of 6.83m.

Senior Clay Febus had a solid performance in the 60 meter hurdles finishing first (8.24).  Freshman Robin Hall placed second in the 400m dash missing first by less than a second with a time of 49.26.

Senior Eric Rupe finished in first-place in the 1,000m run with a time of 2:33 and sophomore John Hutnyan finished in third place (2:41). In the 3000m run junior Austin McLean took the lead in the last lap to first in a time of 8:51. The men's 4x400 relay team of John Helms, Clay Febus, Marcellus Embry, and Robin Hall finished in second place with a time of 3:28.

Youngstown State is in action next at the YSU Invitational at the WATTS on Jan. 24.
Full Results

Blue and Gold Invitational at Notre Dame
Detroit kicked off the 2013-14 slate at the Blue and Gold Invitational at Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. Teams from Bethel (Ind.), Marquette, DePaul, as well as the host team were all competing in the meet.

Senior sprinter Charles Anthony led the Titan charge running a 6.99 in the 60 meters for second place out of 21 runners. Anthony was not alone up top as freshman Brandon Wilks was right behind timing in at 7.00 in third place in his first collegiate competition. The mark for Wilk was the fastest by a Titan rookie in December and the No. 5 all-time Titan best.

The freshman would end up besting Anthony in the 200 meter race placing third as the rookie's mark of 22.01 beat Anthony's 22.27 time. The run for Wilks becomes the No. 8 all-time Titan mark.

A trio of Titans competed in the 60 meter hurdles and it was senior Steven Ivanics who came in third at 8.46. Freshmen Ilia Panev and Jacob Whitting were also in the race with Panev not far off Ivanic's pace at 8.50, which is the new No. 10 all-time Titan mark, while Whitting's debut came in at 9.33.

In the 500 meter race, freshman Khalil Parris came in third at 1:06.42 in his debut.

Sophomore Joshua Carolin was third in the mile run with a personal record of 4:24.30.

Sophomore Derek Gielarowski led a group of Titan distance runners in the 5k run coming in third setting a new PR at 15:20.06 and moving into the No. 10 all-time Titan spot. In the race, a slew of Detroit runners in freshman Ryan Leahy (15:29.62), junior George Holman (15:35.47), redshirt freshman Austin Wigent (15:37.34), senior Sam Felton (15:37.81), and junior Ryan Hofsess (15:44.67) all set new personal bests in the event.

In jumps, freshman Dylan Kruis cleared 1.85m in the high jump and leaped 5.68m in the long jump in his first competition.

Moving to the Titan women, Sophomore Allison Garner was fourth of 20 in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.84, just off her personal best of 7.83 from the Horizon League Indoor Championships a year ago.

Senior Brandee Hart was second in the 60 meter hurdles at 8.95 which was just .02 off her personal best. Freshman hurdler Natalie Peterson made her collegiate debut running a 9.76 and earning the No. 12 all-time Titan best mark.
 
In the 5k distance run, senior Louisa Coppola earned the No. 2 all-time Titan mark with a second place finish and a time of 10:05.04.

The 4x400 meter relay team of Hart, senior Nicole Meisner, sophomore Alani Letang, and anchor Marchant placed fifth with a time of 4:04.36.

In the jumps, sophomore Aisha Potts-Tyre was fourth in the long jump with a leap of 5.42m while graduate student Bri Soule was seventh at 5.20m. Senior Whitney Rogers had a mark of 11.16m in the triple jump that put her in fourth place.

The next event for the Titans is scheduled for Jan. 11 at the Eastern Michigan Triangular.
Full Results

Eastern Michigan Holiday Meet
Serena San Cartier finished .35 behind first place in the 60-meter hurdles with a 8.90 and Karli Keur earned herself a spot in the top-five all time for the mile run when she finished in 5:10 as the Oakland women began their indoor track season at the Eastern Michigan Holiday Meet on Friday, Dec. 6.

"Today's meet was a perfect way to start a new season," commented head coach Paul Rice. "The level of competition was great and I think our athletes know exactly where they are after today. They can see their hard work paying off but also the areas that we still have to work on. I am very proud of our performances tonight overall and I know these ladies will accomplish many great things during this indoor season."

Sammy Mondry finished in fifth place in her heat in the 3,000m run with a time of 10:25.20. The 4x400 relay team put up a time of 4:24.04 in its first race of this indoor season. Also, Katelynne Hartman threw for 12.43m in the shot put, good for fourth place.

Oakland next competes at the Macomb CC Tri-Meet in Macomb, Mich. on Dec. 13.
Full Results

Golden Flash Gala
The Wright State track team opened their indoor season Friday at the Golden Flash Gala, held at the Kent State Fieldhouse in Kent, Ohio.

Sarah-Ann Blount set a school record in the high jump as part of the pentathlon, finishing in a tie for third with a height of 1.60m.  She won the 60 meter hurdles and long jump competitions and ended up seventh in the pentathlon overall while Brittany Jones was 10th, E'shira Gooden 12th and Taylor Schweickart 16th.

Wright State will next be in action at the Buckeye Classic on January 10.
Day 1 Full Results

Day 2 Full Results

Purple and White Invitational
The Wright State track team competed in the unscored Purple & White Invitational hosted by Capital University in Columbus Saturday.

First-place finishers for the Raiders were Savanna Termuhlen in the 60 meter dash, Alexandra Brown in the 3000 meter run and Maria Harrison in the shot put and weight throw.  The 4x200 meter relay team of Brandy Daniels, Katasha Griffiths, Jameela Henderson and Termuhlen also placed first.

Wright State will next be in action at the Buckeye Classic on January 10.
Full Results

Mastodon Opener
Gino Vitella set a new Oakland record in the shot put, throwing 16.91 meters (approx. 55' 5.75") and taking third place as the Oakland men's track team traveled to the Mastodon Opener on Saturday. The previous record was set by teammate Andrew Stebbins with 52' 10.75" in 2011.

"This was a very competitive meet and our guys did a great job of representing OU," said head coach Paul Rice. "I was very impressed with the efforts put in today. Much like yesterday, we now have a great feel for where we are and also know we still have some things to work on. We have a bunch of young guys and they are a very talented group, as was shown today. The real standout performance today was Gino (Vitella) setting a new school record in the shot put. He has picked up right where he left off last spring - a true testament to the work he put in over the past six months."

Stebbins also out-performed his previous shot put record by throwing 16.62m (approx. 54' 6.36"), good for fourth place in the event. C.J. Gozdor won the high jump, earning a mark of 2.05m (6' 8.76" ft.) and Nicholas Girodat took fifth place in the 60m dash, finishing in 7.04 seconds, putting him second best all-time in the Oakland record books.

Oakland next competes in the Macomb CC Tri Meet in Macomb, Mich on Dec. 13.

The Valparaiso men’s track and field team opened the 2013-2014 indoor season on Saturday at the Mastodon Opener in Fort Wayne, Ind., earning one victory and several top-ten finishes.

Justin Zosso took top honors in the pole vault, clearing 14’11” for the top spot on the Crusader’s all-time chart in the event. Jordan Kelly and Barrett Rehm finished third and fourth in the event, with clearances of 12’11” and 12’6” respectively. Travis Simmons and Brennen Miller took top-ten finishes in the high jump with eight and ninth place. Simmons cleared 5’10”, while Miller was able to clear the same height, but needed more attempts.

In the weight throw Jacob Frey was able to capture a top-five finish for the Crusader with a throw of 54’4”, good for fourth place in event and third on the Crusader’s all-time chart.

The Crusader men are not scheduled to compete again until after the holiday break. Once back, Valparaiso will travel to Hillsdale Mich. to compete at Hillsdale College on Saturday, January 11th.
Full Results