Both the men’s and women’s indoor track teams found success in their meet at Indiana University Jan. 24 in Bloomington, Ind. Both teams performed well, especially due to outstanding individual accomplishments.
For the women’s team, sophomore Emily Oren and junior Shena Albaugh took seventh and eighth in the 800 meter, and Oren also received sixth in the mile, while sophomores Kristina Galat and Kathryn Royer place eighth and ninth in the mile run. The 4×800 relay team, composed of junior Amy Kerst, Royer, Galat, and freshman Molly Oren, finished 10th. In the pole vault, freshman Alex Whitford took ninth, and freshman Julia Bos finished 14th in the 5,000-meter run.
“We were up-and-down…we had some really good performances, and, we had some not-so-good performances,” said head women’s coach Andrew Towne. “But, in terms of the good performances, I was really happy with Emily Oren and Alex Whitford. They both recorded NCAA provisional qualifying marks.”
The team is young, Towne said, but the team is making a lot of progress.
“This meet seemed to be the place where a lot of things came together from our previous competitions,” Whitford said. “We are a young team with a lot to learn, so every meet we learn how to be a better team.”
Towne said that the team receiving NCAA provisional marks is exciting all in itself, specifically for Oren — who was also named the GLIAC track athlete of the week — and Whitford, but he thinks that the team is capable of doing even better as the season progresses.
The men’s team performed at an excellent level, with junior Joshua Mirth finishing third in the 5000 meter, junior Damian Matthews taking seventh in the 200 meter, sophomore Nicholas Shuster placing third for the high jump, and freshman Caleb Gatchell finishing ninth in the 800 meter.
The relay teams and senior men also displayed a strong performance. The 4×400 relay, composed of seniors Elliot Murphy, Jared Van Dyke, Maurice Jones, and freshman Ty Etchemendy, finished fifth with a personal best for their team. In the 4×800 relay, Gatchell, senior Matt Van Egmond, junior Luke Hickman, and freshman Andrew Beaird placed ninth.
Senior John Banovetz finished fourth in the shot put and ninth in the weight throw, placing right after senior Brett Daily, who took eighth in weight and beat his personal best. Senior Matt Raffin took fifth in the 60-meter hurdles, breaking his personal best as well as the school record, and Jones placed tenth in the 200-meter dash.
“The team did really well,” head men’s coach Jeff Forino said. “In the middle of the season the students are all somewhat tired, so we have to back off a little on training, so for this meet at a big school like IU, they got pumped and their adrenaline kicked in and took over and they did really well.”
The next meet for both teams will be the Grand Valley State University Winter Classic in Allendale, Mich. on Feb. 1.
