Zolotoglavyy/Powell-Lawrence Earn Honors at GLIAC Meet
The University of Findlay men's and women's indoor track and field teams wrapped up Day 2 of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championships on Sunday, March 2nd in Hillsdale, Michigan at the Margot V. Biermann Center.
Junior Kendra Averesch has been throwing with power all year and she is now a GLIAC champion. She took first place with a toss of 50'10.00 ft., an NCAA automatic qualifying throw. This will be the second time she has traveled to the indoor national championships.
Freshman Adrianna Powell-Lawrence was crowned as GLIAC champion in the women's 400 meter dash as she ran to a time of 57.23, an NCAA provisional qualifying time. Her teammate, junior Shelby Stump finished in sixth with a time of 58.74.
Adrianna Powell-Lawrence and Stump also qualified for the 200 meter dash final and finished in seventh and eighth with times of 25.78 and 27.06, respectively.
In the women's 800 meter final, sophomore Samanth Grippe met the NCAA provisional mark and took fourth place in the event with a time of 2:14.39. The top five runners in this event broke the previous facility record.
Sophomore Maud Sanmiquel continued her solid weekend as she raced in the 60 meter hurdles. She took fifth place with a time of 8.87 seconds and met the provisional mark set by the NCAA. Also in the race was junior Pam Showman, who ran an 8.94 and took seventh place.
Findlay's women 4x400 meter relay team has been strong all year and made the podium with their time of 3:53.48. The team made up of Sanmiquel, Showman, junior Kirsten Gaerke, and Stump, took second place and also met the NCAA provisional mark.
Freshman Lilia Malyarova competed in the women triple jump and had a terrific showing. She took second place with a distance of 38'11.00 ft., which was good enough to meet the provisional mark set by the NCAA.
In women's high jump, sophomore Lydia Guagenti took seventh place with a jump of 5'03.25.
Junior Dillon Webster found himself on the podium in the men 800 meter run as he took second place with his time of 1:52.28. This time met the NCAA provisional qualifying mark, although he already met the automatic qualifier earlier this season.
Coming up just short of an NCAA automatic qualifier was junior Demorrio Leggett. His 49'04.50 ft. effort in the triple jump earned him a second place finish.
Senior Marcus Vicars had a solid day throwing in the shot put as he took home third place. His heave of 56'05.75 ft. met the provisional mark set by the NCAA. Also meeting the provisional mark was freshman Ben Hahler. He finished in ninth with a throw of 53'08.50. Close behind was junior standout Justin Welch, fresh off yesterday's runner-up finish in the weight throw. He also met the provisional mark with his eleventh place throw of 51'04.25.
Also meeting an NCAA provisional mark was the men's 4x400 relay team. This group, made up of freshman Derek Collins, Webster, freshman Maliik Briggs, and sophomore Kyle Smithey, came in third place with a time of 3:18.60.
In the men's 1 mile run, senior Justin Eilerman faced a competitive field and narrowly missed the podium as he finished in fourth place with a time of 4:14.96. Also in this event was junior Jacob Hayes. He came in sixth place with a time of 4:16.17. Both runners met the NCAA provisional mark while Eilerman and the three runners ahead of him, beat the old facility record.
Concluding the men's heptathlon was junior Jacob Miller. He finished in eighth place with 4276 points. His best finish came in the pole vault where he finished in third, soaring to a height of 13'05.25 ft.
The final team rankings saw the Oiler women finished in third place with 75 points. Grand Valley State took home the title and Ashland was runner-up.
On the men's side, Findlay finished in fourth place with 63.50 points. GVSU took first, Ashland was second, and Tiffin nabbed third.
A pair of Oiler freshman took home extra awards. Alexander Zolotoglavyy was named Men's Freshman Field Athlete of the Year and Adrianna Powell-Lawrence was named Women's Freshman Track Athlete of the Year.
For the majority of these athletes, their indoor season has concluded and their focus turns to outdoor, but for a select few who have proven their superiority in their respective event, they will return to the track one more time at the NCAA Division II National Championship held in Salem, North Carolina on March 14th and 15th.