Oilers Compete at Ohio State and ONU
The University of Findlay men's and women's track and field teams sent athletes to the Jesse Owens Invitational hosted by Ohio State University and the Polar Bear Invitational hosted by Ohio Northern University on Saturday, April 23.
Jesse Owens Invite – Columbus, OH
Women
Senior Lydia Guagenti participated in three events on the day but her best was the high jump. In that event, she soared to a height of 5'8", good enough for second place and the NCAA DII provisional mark, although her jump of 5'8.75" at the Raleigh Relays earlier this season is still the second-best in the country this season.
Senior Maud Sanmiquel took sixth place in the 100 meter hurdles in a time of 13.91. That meets the provisional in the event, is a person record, and is the tenth fastest time in the country this year. She, along with sophomore Laura Hernandez, sophomore Milani Glass, and senior Samantha Grippe participated in the 4x400 meter relay and finished in fifth place with a time of 3:50.93. Sanmiquel's final event was the 4x100 meter relay where she, Glass, Hernandez, and freshman Madison Stechshulte teamed up for a ninth place finish with a time of 46.94. That time also met the NCAA provisional in the event.
In the 800 meter run, Grippe finished in seventh place with a time of 2:11.20. That time is good enough to meet the NCAA provisional in the event and is the 15th best time in DII this season.
Men
Junior Trey Everett, who has already qualified for the DII National Championship in the high jump, competed in the long jump and took second place with a distance of 23'10.75". That distance meets the provisional distance in the event and is his best jump of the year. He also competed in the triple jump and took 11th with a distance of 44'3.5", a new personal best. Junior Alexander Zolotoglavyy also competed in the long jump and finished in 10th with a jump of 22'10.00".
In the 4x400 meter relay, the team of sophomore Sergi Torres, sophomore George Effah, freshman Zach Jellison, and junior Derek Collins finished in third place with a time of 3:16.30. Torres also competed in the 400 meter run and took 11th with a time of 48.77.
Polar Bear Invitational – Ada, OH
As a team, the women finished in second place with a point total of 116.50 while the men finished in third place with a total of 113 points.
Women's Track
In the 1500 meter run, senior Erica Bettac, who owns the Polar Bear Invite meet record and the ONU stadium record, won with a time of 4:57.15. Another top finisher in that race was senior Meredith Hoops who took fourth with her time of 5:00.96, a new personal best.
Another distance race that produced a winner for Findlay was the 5000 meter run where junior Melanie Ruich took the top spot with a finals time of 18:45.75. That time is Ruich's fastest in the event this year and also set a new Polar Bear Invitational record. Sophomore Taylor Bolinger was also in the event and finished second with a 19:24.64.
Senior McKenzie Mahlmeister took part in the 800 meter run and finished in fourth place with a new personal record time of 2:29.76.
Women's Field
Sophomore Alex DeVincentis earned a pair of titles on the day as she took the top spot in both the shot put and the discus throw. In the shot, her toss measured 48'3.5" and in the discus, she reached a distance of 148'11". She also took part in the hammer throw, finishing fifth place with a throw of 153'11".
Freshman Holly Averesch also had a good day in the throws with a second place finish in the shot put with a 43'6.5" and took third in the discus throw with a 140'2".
Junior Liz Streacker had a toss of 43'00.50" in the shot put giving her a third place finish. She took second place in the discus throw with a toss of 143'00". That gave the Oilers the top three spots in both the discus and shot put competitions.
Junior Erica King broke her own stadium and meet records from last season with a first place finish in the hammer throw. Her distance of 192'03" is good for an automatic qualifier and ties her personal best and is the second-best throw in the country this yaer. Liz Streacker also participated in the event and met the provisional mark with a second place finish, a throw of 187'07". She also tied her personal best in the event, the seventh best toss in DII this year.
Men's Track
Freshman Jonathan Allen brought home a first place finish in the 5000 meter run where he ran to a time of 15:49.61. Also in that event, freshman Ty Gleason's time of 15:49.98 earned him second place and a new personal best.
Another first place finish came in the 3000 meter steeplechase when junior Aaron Cingle finished with a time of 10:32.88.
Competing unattached, senior Derek Spindler placed fourth in the high jump as he reached a height of 14'11.5".
Sophomore Matias Trampe-Kindt set a new personal best in the 800 meter run with his time of 1:59.65. That time earned him a fifth place finish.
Men Field
Junior Ben Hahler, junior Mitch Adkins, and senior Parker Schroeder were top ten finishers in the shot put. Hahler took second with a 58'02.00", Adkins finished fourth with a 51'10.50", and Schroeder took seventh with a 49'00.00". Hahler met the provisional mark in the event.
Those three, along with sophomore Garrett Gardner took the top four spots in the discus throw in the discus throw. Hahler was the only one who met the provisional with his winning throw of 166'11". The next three were Schroeder (151'06"), Adkins (149'06"), and Gardner (144'10").
Freshman Austin Combs took fourth in the hammer throw with a distance of 174'00" while Adkins finished sixth with a 166'11".
Freshman Jordan Davis reached a distance of 42'5.25" in the triple jump and earned a fourth place finish.
Both teams will be back on the track at the Penn Relays on Thursday-Saturday, April 28-30.