The Slippery Rock men’s and women’s indoor track teams secured four NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the pole vault at the Midwest Open last Saturday.
Senior Julia Cain and sophomore Kaitlyn Clark both hit their marks with clearances of 3.55 meters and tied for fifth place. Freshman Jordan Pacheco and sophomore Cody Colagrande cleared 4.66 meters and tied for third.
In addition to the NCAA marks from the vaulters, the SRU women’s team recorded 22 PSAC qualifying marks and nine top-10 finishes.
Junior Janine Powis ran the 800-meter in 2:17.70 to finish ninth.
Sophomore Emily Moroco met PSAC standards in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes. Moroco finished 12th in the 60-meter dash at 8.11 seconds and 19th in the 200-meter dash at 26.47 seconds.
“Emily pushes everyone,” sophomore Lexie Nowakowski said. “She always cheers us on to finish workouts or races.”
Nowakoski was unable to compete at the Midwest Open due to an injury. She plans to compete this upcoming weekend at Youngstown State University.
Junior Katelyn Wetzel finished ninth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 8.04 seconds.
“Katelyn is a great team leader for the girls,” Nowakowski said. “She pushes us through every practice and if we need help with anything, she’s there.”
Junior Brittany Christiansen fell short of her school record in the weight throw but placed sixth with a throw of 15.91 meters.
Sophomore Breana Northcott, senior Amanda McCool and senior Allyson Hubble hit PSAC standards in the weight throw. Northcott threw for 13.95 meters, McCool for 13.62 meters and Hubble for 12.78 meters.
In the shot put, freshman Ava Bonetti finished 11th with a mark of 11.92 meters.
Slippery Rock nearly added two more NCAA provisional marks with performances from sophomores Paige Kassab and Ashley West in the high jump.
The duo both cleared 1.65 meters and placed third (Kassab) and fourth (West).
Freshman Sabrina Anderson placed ninth in the high jump with a clearance of 1.60 meters.
Senior Dilshani Madawala placed seventh in the triple jump at 10.73 meters.
The men’s track and field had 12 top-10 finishes and recorded 19 PSAC qualifying marks.
The 4×400-meter relay team finished third and posted their best time of the indoor season, 3:20.20. Senior Trevor Foley, junior Hunter Williams, senior Nathaniel Helfferich and freshman Jacob VanHouten made up the relay team.
Williams also finished ninth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.61 seconds.
“As a young athlete on the team, you can’t help but look up to Hunter,” freshman Logan Mooney said. “He works hard every day and is a great leader.”
Senior Billy Martin led SRU men’s weight throwers with a toss of 16.29 meters and a fifth place finish. Martin was followed by junior Nick Turk in sixth at 15.97 meters, sophomore David Reinhardt in seventh at 15.97 meters and junior Trevor Miller in 11th at 15.14 meters.
Miller finished fifth in the shot put at 15.29 meters. Junior Jerrod Galloway finished seventh at 14.74 meters, sophomore Kaleb Kingston finished ninth at 14.49 meters and Reinhardt placed 12th at 13.73 meters.
Senior Victor Santoyo leaped for 13.81 meters in the triple jump and cleared 2.00 meters in the high jump. Both marks earned Santoyo third place finishes.
In the mile run, junior Tyler Melius ran 4:17.34, junior Ryan Thompson ran 4:21.19 and freshman Tyler Palenchak ran 4:21.52 to reach PSAC standards.
Freshman Stephen Shephard ran the 800-meter run in 1:58.23. Freshman Zac Patton also qualified for PSACs in the event with a time of 1:58.43.
Slippery Rock will focus on refining their skills at the Youngstown State University National Invite this coming weekend.
