Oilers Battle Hillsdale and Ashland in Michigan
Hillsdale, Mich. – The University of Findlay men's and women's track and field team competed in a tri-meet on Friday, Jan. 14 in Hillsdale, Michigan against the Hillsdale Chargers and Ashland Eagles. Findlay's women took second, falling just eight points shy of Hillsdale, while the men were beaten by both the Chargers and Ashland.
Women's Results
For the Oilers, as has been the case for the past couple of seasons, the women's pole vault has been a marquee event and that proved true again on Friday. Findlay's top finisher was junior Meadow Cromer who took second behind senior Savannah Amato, who competed unattached but will be back in orange and black in the spring outdoor season. Cromer reached a career-best height of 4.09m (13'05.00") which surpasses the NCAA provisional mark in the event and is the third-best effort in the country this season. Close behind was sophomore Morgan England who also met the NCAA provisional by clearing 3.99m (13'01.0"). Sophomore Lindsey Kluesener also cleared 3.99m on her third effort, placing her in fifth in the event.
In other field event action, sophomore Simone Green, who owns the top mark in the Great Midwest so far this season, took first in the women's long jump with a distance of 5.43m (17'09.75"). Freshman Madison Myers was just an inch behind Green, taking second with a 5.40m (17'07.75") jump. Green later went on to pick up a win in the triple jump, as well, with an NCAA provisional mark of 11.83m (38'09.75"), more than a foot-and-a-half ahead of the runner-up, Emily Gerdin of Hillsdale.
Picking up another win in the field was freshman thrower Trista Fintel who took top spot in the women's shot put. She met the provisional mark in the event, winning with a toss of 13.91m (45'07.75). Sophomore Paige Emnett took third with a 13.77m (45'02.25") throw, also an NCAA provisional.
On the track, freshman Kylie Ray picked up a win for Findlay in the women's 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.17. Ray continued a good night of competition in the 400m hurdles where her time of 1:04.90 was also good enough for a win.
Men's Results
On the men's side, it was junior Nick DeHaven who turned in the performance of the night, claiming a win in the one mile run. DeHaven finished the race in a time of 4:10.07, setting a new school record in the process. He passes the former record of 4:11.27 which was set in 2015 by Jacob Hayes. DeHaven's time is also a Hillsdale facility record, an NCAA provisional, and the third-fastest time in the country this season.
Fellow distance runner, freshman Noah Fisher, earned a win in the 3000m run, winning in a time of 8:42.08, the second-best time in the conference this season
In men's long jump, freshman Chris Campbell took first with a jump of 6.83m (22'05.00").
Senior Gave Makin took second in the men's pole vault, clearing a height of 4.63m (15'02.25") on his third attempt while Hillsdale's Ben Raffin cleared that same height on his second, giving Raffin the win. Sophomore Jacob Michael also cleared 4.63m, setting a new career-best and giving him a third-place finish.
Sophomore Josh Verhoff won the fastest race of the night, the men's 60-meter dash. Verhoff raced to a time of 6.88 seconds, winning by just over a tenth of a second and just a single hundredth of a second shy of the NCAA provisional.