The Slippery Rock outdoor track and field teams dominated the competition at the Dave Labor Invitational last Saturday.
The home invite was renamed this year after the late Dave Labor. Labor was an assistant coach with the program for 17 years and died last fall after battling cancer.
The men’s team won nine events, and the women recorded eight wins.
Freshman Hunter Williams won the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.31 seconds. Williams took third in the 200-meter dash, clocking in a time of 22.78 seconds.
The Rock swept the top four positions in the 110-meter hurdles and the top three spots for the 400-meter hurdles.
Junior Dan Hedglin won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.46 seconds. Hedglin was followed by junior Ethan Geisler in second at 15.71 seconds, sophomore Jonathan Boyd in third at 15.77 seconds, and senior Joe Spears at 16.04 seconds.
In the 400-meter hurdles, sophomore Trevor Foley claimed the win with a time of 53.56 seconds. Geisler followed in second place with a time of 54.42 seconds and Hedglin took third at 54.60 seconds.
Freshman Theodore Reynolds won the 10,000-meter run with a time of 33:56.07.
The 4×400-meter relay team of Williams, Geisler, Foley, and junior DJ Chisom completed the event with a time of 3:18.99 to record their fastest time of the season and the win.
Chisom filled in for the injured junior Mason McLaughlin.
“Chisom stepped up big time to help our guys to that season-best time. That shows our depth as a team that on any given day one of us can step in for one another and be ready to compete,” McLaughlin said.
Slippery Rock had a good showing in the field competitions as well, winning four out of eight events.
In the hammer throw, junior Joseph Kelly took first with a throw of 50.58 meters. Junior Kyle Toms threw for 47.08 meters to place fourth.
Senior Chad Noce won the shot put with a distance of 15.83 meters and was followed by Toms in third at 15.20 meters.
Sophomore Sam Lotz won the triple jump with a leap of 12.79 meters.
Two of the Rock’s pole vaulters were part of a three-way tie for first place. Sophomore David Caldwell and senior Ryan Camody cleared 4.30 meters to tie for the win with Edinboro’s Nick Turner.
The women’s team was also well-represented in the field events.
In the high jump, sophomore Jamie Rylands took the win with a mark of 1.57 meters. Freshman Kirsten Fuller tied for third with Walsh’s Catie Shears with a mark of 1.47 meters.
Freshman Brittany Christiansen threw for 48.45 meters to win the hammer throw. In second place was senior Cassie Carrow with a throw of 45.11 meters.
Senior Sandy Kakraba took wins in the triple jump and the shot put.
In the triple jump, Kakraba had a leap of 10.60 meters. Second place was taken by sophomore Dilshani Madawala at 10.25 meters.
Kakraba threw for 12.50 for the win in the shot put.
Junior Lexi Arnold won the javelin with a throw of 41.05 meters.
Slippery Rock’s pole vaulters had another strong showing, taking second through fifth place in the event.
The vaulters were led by junior Angela Schroeder’s clearance of 3.50 meters.
Schroeder was followed by sophomore Julia Cain at 3.35 meters, senior Kelly Fischer at 3.20 meters, and freshman Emily Schubert at 3.10 meters.
“Everyone on the pole vault team is dedicated to the event and will support and push everyone to do their best,” Cain said.
Freshmen Katelyn Wetzel and Samantha Zampetti earned top-10 spots in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash for the Rock.
Wetzel took first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.82 seconds, while Zampetti took fourth at 13.33 seconds.
In the 200-meter dash Wetzel placed third at 26.81 seconds and Zampetti took seventh at 27.33 seconds.
Sophomore Stephanie Turak took first in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 5:10.99.
Receiving top honors and a win in the 5,000-meter run was junior Jordan Hausladen with a time of 19:13.89.
Slippery Rock also sent a few multi athletes to the Mondschein Multi Event in Kutztown, Pa. last Thursday.
Former Rock athlete Kim Stitt won the heptathlon with a score of 4,358 points.
Junior Tara Catone took seventh in the event with a total of 3,689 points, while freshman Amelia Wren placed 11th with 3,257 points.
Catone’s total was the fifth-highest total for PSAC athletes this season. Top-14 scores advance to the PSAC championships at the end of the season.
Representing the Rock in the decathlon was junior Andrew Greenslade, sophomore Derick Fiedler, and freshman Adam Brenneman.
Greenslade placed third with his career-high total of 5,840 points.
Fiedler earned 5,733 points to place fourth and Brenneman took 16th with 3,991 points.
The Rock rounded out the weekend’s competition by sending their top 800-meter runners at the Bison Outdoor Classic on Sunday.
Freshman Janine Powis, senior Caitlin Hancox, and junior Kevin Jewel represented the university at the meet.
Powis ran her season-best time of 2:16.21 to finish ninth and Hancox took 16th with a time of 2:14.95.
There were 66 competitors in the women’s event.
Jewel ran the event in 1:56.04 to place 29th in the 63-man field.
Slippery Rock was well-represented amongst the other athletes at the meet.
The team’s best performances are yet to come, Cain said. Everyone wants to qualify for the PSAC championship meet, so there should be some great performances coming up.
Slippery Rock will head to Indiana, Pa. for the IUP Invitational this Saturday.
