Day Two of GLIAC Championship Comes to a Close
On Thursday, May 5th, the second day of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships, The University of Findlay track and field teams crowned a couple of GLIAC champions and have numerous athletes competing in Friday's finals.
After two days of competition, seven events have been scored. The Oiler women currently sit in 3rd place with 31 total points and the men are currently in 7th place with 19 points.
Women
Senior Lydia Guagenti put together an outstanding performance in the heptathlon to be crowned the GLIAC champion with 5,135 points, which meets the NCAA provisional mark and currently places her 4th in the country. This mark also sets a new outdoor school record. The previous record at Findlay was 5,058 points by Pam Showman in 2014.
On Wednesday, Guagenti placed 1st in the high jump and 200 meter dash, finished 2nd in the 100 meter hurdles, and wrapped up the first day competition by placing 4th in the shot put. Today, she capped off the heptathlon with 1st place finishes in the long jump (17'11") and javelin throw (116'08.58"), while earning 3rd in the 800 meter run (2:27.83).
The 4x100 meter relay team featuring sophomore Milani Glass, senior Maud Sanmiquel, freshman Symphony Cooke, and freshman Madison Stechshulte qualified for the finals with a 3rd place preliminary finish and NCAA provisional time of 46.01.
Sanmiquel and Glass also advanced to the finals of the 100 meter hurdles. Sanmiquel won the preliminaries and met the NCAA provisional mark with a time of 13.77. This time currently ranks her 8th in the country. Glass was able to qualify for the finals with a 6th place finish at the 14.37 mark.
Sanmiquel continued to perform well on the day, as she won the 400 meter hurdle prelims to advance to the finals with a time of 1:00.32. This time meets the NCAA provisional mark and it currently puts her 6th in the country.
Stechshulte also competed in the 100 and 200 meter dash prelims and was able to book a spot for the finals in both events. In the 100, she was able to advance with an 8th place finish at the 12.16 mark and in the 200, she advanced with a time of 24.82 to earn 4th.
In the 800 meter run prelims, senior Samantha Grippe claimed 5th and earned a spot in the finals after completing the race in 2:14.33 seconds.
Women Field
In the hammer throw, juniors Erica King and Liz Streacker finished first and second respectively. King's throw of 200'01" is an automatic qualifier for the NCAA National Championship and is the 2nd best throw in the country. Streacker's toss of 192'11" met the NCAA provisional mark and currently ranks her 5th in the nation.
Guagenti competed in the javelin throw and claimed 6th with a toss that measured 113'8".
Men
Sophomore Sergi Torres and freshman George Effah competed in the 400 meter dash preliminaries, where they both were able to qualify for the finals. In the preliminaries, Torres earned 4th with a time of 48.41 and Effah grabbed the last spot with an 8th place finish at the 48.99 mark.
Men Field
Junior Trey Everett collected silver and met the NCAA provisional in the high jump, after soaring to a height of 6'9.75".
In the long jump, senior Michael Bruce met the NCAA provisional mark and collected the bronze with a 3rd place leap of 24'7". This mark moves Bruce up to 12th in the nation. Everett also competed in the long jump and grabbed 6th after covering a distance of 23'1.75".
Freshman Austin Combs earned 6th and provo'd in the hammer throw with a heave of 194'. With this throw, Combs has positioned himself 16th in the country.
The final day of the GLIAC Track and Field Championships is set for Friday, May 6th at Ferris State University. The field events are scheduled to begin at 11am and the running events are slated for a 12pm start.