Findlay Competes at Hillsdale Tune-Up
The University of Findlay men's and women's indoor track and field teams competed Saturday, February 22nd at the Hillsdale Tune-Up held in Hillsdale, Michigan.
Providing another great performance for the Findlay women was freshman Erica King who competed in the women's weight throw. She took fourth place with her throw of 55'06.50 ft. This toss was good enough to meet the provisional qualifying mark set by the NCAA. Also meeting the provisional mark was sophomore Anna Knapski. Her throw of 53'01.00 ft. earned a sixth place finish.
The Findlay women's 4x400 meter relay team had a great showing as they took first place in the event. The team of sophomore Maud Sanmiquel, freshman Adriana Powell-Lawrence, junior Shelby Stump, and junior Kirsten Gaerke finished in a time of 3:51.39, an NCAA provisional qualifying time and also a Margot V. Biermann Center record.
In women's 60 meter hurdle action, Findlay's Sanmiquel showed her excellence as she ran away from the field for a first place finish in her preliminary race. Her time of 8.81 seconds earned an automatic bid to the NCAA National Championship meet. In the finals, the sophomore took third place with a time of 8.95 seconds.
Powell-Lawrence nearly missed and NCAA provisional time as she took third place with a time of 25.55 seconds in the women's 200 meter dash. Sanmiquel was also active in the event and finished in fifth with a time of 25.79 seconds. Stump was close behind. Her time of 26.01 earned a seventh place finish.
In the women's 800, Oiler sophomore Samantha Grippe took second place with her time of 2:16.54. This time was good enough to earn an NCAA provisional bid.
Freshman Melanie Ruich ran well for the Oilers. Her time of 10:51.00 in the women's 3000 meter run was good enough for a second place finish. Senior Samantha Hassen also competed in the event and took fifth place with a time of 11:08.88.
Sophomore Lydia Guagenti had a solid showing in the women's high jump as she took second place with a jump of 5'04.25 ft.
In the women's pole vault, freshman Torie Allgire jumped to a height of 10'06.25 ft. which was good enough to earn fourth place. Finishing close behind was freshman Taylor Allen. She finished fifth with a jump that measured 10'00.50.
Sophomore Erica Bettac ran well for Findlay in the women's 1 mile run as she took fourth place in a field of 31 runners with a time of 5:15.89.
In the women's 400 meter dash, senior Emily Caudill competed and took seventh place with her time of 1:01.47.
In the men's shot put, the Oilers received exceptional effort from senior Marcus Vicars as he took first place with his NCAA provisional qualifying throw that reached a distance of 55'03.50. ft. Junior Brian Jennings also met the NCAA provisional mark with his throw of 52'02.00, a toss that earned him fourth place. Vicars also competed in the weight throw where he showed his prowess as a dual threat athlete. Sophomore Kyle Smithey competed in the men's 60 meter hurdles and took fifth place in the finals with his time of 8.75 seconds.
Senior Justin Eilerman, fresh of last week's record setting performance, again showed his skill in the men's 1 mile run. He ran a time of 4:17.08 which was good enough for first place in an event that played host to 35 runners.
In the men's 800 meter run, junior Jacob Hayes took third place with a time of 1:56.79.
Freshman Derek Collins competed in the men's long jump and took sixth place out of 29 competitors with his jump that distanced 21'06.75 ft.
He met the NCAA provisional mark with his heave of 56'07.25 ft., good enough to earn fourth place out of 20 competitors.
The Oilers will make the trip back to Hillsdale next Saturday and Sunday, March 1st and 2nd, for the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Indoor Track and Field Championships.