Slippery Rock’s indoor track and field team dominated the Baldwin-Wallace mid-February meet last Friday night in Berea, Ohio.
The men’s team brought home seven wins and 31 top-10 finishes. Top events included the shot put, sprints, and distance runs.
Slippery Rock took the top three spots in the shot put. Junior Kyle Toms won the event with a throw of 15.15 meters, senior Chad Noce came in second place with a throw of 14.75 meters, and freshman Trevor Miller in third with 13.52 meters.
The Rock swept the top four spots in the 55-meter hurdles with senior Dan Hedglin leading the event with a time of 7.85 seconds. In second place was junior Ethan Geisler at 7.98 seconds, sophomore Jonathan Boyd in third at 8.14 seconds, and senior Joe Spears in fourth at 8.15 seconds.
In the 200-meter dash, SRU claimed the top five spots. Senior Vanere Maynard clocked in a time of 22.59 seconds to win the event. Losing by tenths of a second was freshman Hunter Williams. Senior DJ Chisom came in third with a time of 22.90 seconds, sophomore Trevor Foley in fourth at 23.04 seconds, and junior Mason McLaughlin in fifth at 23.05 seconds.
Williams went on to win the 400-meter dash clocking in at 50.81 seconds. Foley came in second at 51.46 seconds, Geisler in fourth at 52.38 seconds, Hedglin in sixth at 52.71 seconds, Maynard in seventh at 52.71 seconds and sophomore Nate Helfferich in eighth place at 52.83 seconds.
Chisom took the win in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.56 seconds. McLaughlin placed seventh in the event at 6.75 seconds.
Distance runners, sophomore Michael Beegle and junior Eric Geddis took the top two spots in the mile run. Beegle came in first with a time of 4:32.63, and Geddis at 4:33.04.
The Rock’s 4×200-meter relay team of freshman Monte Chapman, Foley, Maynard, and Helfferich won their event by over two seconds with a time of 1:33.33.
The women’s team brought home 23 top-10 finishes, with top performances in the pole vault and weight throw.
SRU swept the pole vault, with junior Angela Schroeder and senior Kelly Fischer both clearing 3.50 meters and tying for first place. Junior Emily Vaughn placed third with a clearance of 3.20 meters and freshman Emily Schubert placed fourth at 3.05 meters.
Senior Sandy Kakraba won the weight throw with a career-high throw of 15 meters. Freshman Brittany Christiansen fell short and placed second with a throw of 14.97 meters. Senior Cassie Carrow threw for 13.75 meters, coming in fourth place.
Christiansen won the shot put for the Rock with a throw of 12.92 meters.
“All of us have put a large amount of time and effort into our training, and to have this much success two weeks before the PSAC Championship shows that we are ready,” Christiansen said. “We push each other by being the competitive people that we all are. It’s a great atmosphere during practice that lets each of us compete well at meets.”
Junior Abby Michaelian came in second for the 3,000-meter run with a PSAC qualifying time of 10:51.74.
Freshmen Katelyn Wetzel and Samantha Zampetti were Slippery Rock’s top sprinters at the meet. In the 55-meter dash, Wetzel came in fourth at 7.49 seconds and Zampetti in seventh at 7.74 seconds. In the 200-meter dash, Wetzel placed second with a time of 26.73 meters and Zampetti came in ninth at 28.01 seconds.
Slippery Rock sent a few athletes to compete at the Akron Invitational on Saturday. Representing the university were freshman Janine Powis, senior Caitlin Hancox, and junior Kevin Jewel.
Hancox placed sixth in the Blue Division 800-meter race with a season-best run of 2:18.17. The mark is also the fourth-fastest time ran by an 800-meter athlete in the PSAC this year. The time was just short of meeting NCAA provisional qualifying standards.
Powis competed in the Gold Division 800-meter race and placed 11th with a time of 2:15.59. Her mark is the third-best time for a PSAC athlete in the 800-meter run this season.
Also competing in an 800-meter run, Jewel ran for a time of 1:53.50 and placed sixth in the Gold Division race. His time is the fastest in the PSAC this season.
“It helps knowing that I am capable of the top spot, but you never really know,” Jewel said. “Just because you have the fastest time in the past doesn’t mean you will on that day.”
Slippery Rock heads to the Kent State Tune-Up tomorrow to compete in their last meet before the PSAC Championships.
