16 Track Athletes Headed to Nationals
The University of Findlay men and women's indoor track and field teams will send a total of 16 athletes to the 2015 NCAA Division II National Championship, which is scheduled to take place on March 13-14 in Birmingham, Ala.
The men will enter the event ranked second in the nation and are led by seniors Justin Welch and Taylor Miller, who are the top-ranked competitors in the weight throw and shot put, respectively.
Welch, the 2015 GLIAC Field Athlete of the Year, is the top-seed in the weight throw with a mark of 22.15 meters and he will also compete for Findlay in the shot put where he is seeded 15th at 17.01 meters. Miller meanwhile is the top-seeded athlete in the shot put at 18.45 meters.
The Oilers will also have senior Mathieu Marcoccia, sophomore Ben Hahler and senior Brian Jennings competing in the shot put. Marcoccia is seeded fourth at 17.62 meters, Hahler is fourth at 17.58 meters and Jennings is 16th at 16.99 meters.
Sophomore Alexander Zolotoglavyy and freshman Michael Bruce will both compete in the long jump and triple jump at the championship as well. Zolotoglavyy is seeded fifth in the long jump at 7.45 meters and 15th in the triple jump at 14.99 meters. Bruce, who was named the GLIAC Freshman Field Athlete of the Year, is seeded seventh in the long jump at 7.45 meters and fifth in the triple jump at 15.31 meters.
Sophomore Sergi Torres will enter the event as the two-seed in the 400-meter dash at 47.42 and will also team with senior Dillon Webster and sophomores Maliik Briggs and Derek Collins in the 4x400-meter relay. The team, which will have senior Jake Miller as an alternate, is seeded fourth with a time of 3:12.32.
Webster will also compete for Findlay in the 800-meter run as he enters the event with the sixth fastest time of 1:50.05.
The women's team will be led by senior Kendra Averesch, who will compete in the shot put and weight throw. Averesch is seeded second in the shot put at 16.73 meters and 15th in the weight throw at 18.27 meters.
Sophomore Erica King will be throwing the shot put and is seeded 16th at 18.22 meters while junior Lydia Guagenti is seeded 11th in the high jump at 1.74 meters.
Senior Pam Showman will compete in the pentathlon as well for Findlay and she will enter the event ranked 13th with 3,672 points.