While the throwers competed for the Chargers at the Blizzard Buster Invitational at Miami University of Ohio on Friday, senior Reese Dragovich won the 800 meter race at the Mountaineer First Chance Invitational at Appalachian State.
Dragovich won the race with a time of 2:12.11.
Senior Katie Sayles placed third in the hammer throw with a mark of 51.55 meters. Senior Juliet Bernard placed fourth in the hammer throw with a mark of 51.37 meters.
In her final year, Sayles hopes to qualify for and compete at the outdoor national championships.
“These are my last few months of being a collegiate thrower and I want to see how good I can get. My goal is to qualify for outdoor nationals for the first time as a last hurrah,” Sayles said.
Sayles also placed fifth in the shot put with a mark of 12.07 meters.
“I’m really looking forward to my final season as a college athlete,” Sayles said. “I’m especially looking forward to our home meets. It’s fun to be able to compete at home and it’s cool to have a brand new facility to use.”
Sophomore Regan Wight placed seventh in the hammer throw with a mark of 46.68 meters, a personal best.
Freshman Olivia Newsome placed seventh in the discus throw with a mark of 38.55 meters, a personal best. Newsome also placed eighth in the hammer throw with a mark of 46.53 meters, also a personal best.
Freshman Sam Jones said the meet environments in college are much more intense than high school, and remind him of his high school state championship meets.
“In high school, meets felt more social—athletes would roam the grounds, chat with competitors in the bullpen or at the line, watch races from the stands, and mess around with friends,” Jones said. “College meets, on the other hand, are much more serious, with most athletes staying in their team camps, resting or stretching, and focusing entirely on their events.”
This different kind of environment lends to the gravity of collegiate meets, Jones said.
“Every meet carries a level of intensity that reminds me of how we treated the state championships in high school,” Jones said.
Senior Mackenzie Morrison placed 13th in both the shot put with a mark of 10.3 meters and the discus throw with a mark of 34.75 meters.
Sophomore Jackson Childress, placed second in the discus throw with a personal best of 51.57 meters, an NCAA DII Provisional Qualifying Mark.
Senior Ben Haas won the hammer throw with a mark of 62.4 meters, also a provisional qualifying mark. Childress placed 11th in the hammer throw with a mark of 44.32 meters.
Haas also placed second in the shot put with a mark of 15.76 meters.
Junior Nathaniel Osborne said that the outdoor season brings sometimes inconsistent weather but the team is also glad to get outside the indoor track environment.
“Outdoor meets introduce some new considerations—inconsistent spring weather can be a huge consideration in whether you have a good or a bad performance,” Osborne said. “But it’s nice to leave stuffy indoor tracks behind and there’s a sense of urgency as you realize how short the season is that I find helpful.”
Sophomore Dmitry Ermakov placed twelfth in the weight throw with a personal best mark of 43.99 meters and senior Isaac Doughty placed 13th with a personal best mark of 43.55 meters.
“The whole team is looking stronger as the year continues and I think some big things are coming soon. I’m excited to have fun, compete the hardest I can, and get a nice payoff at conferences and nationals,” Sayles.
The team is looking forward to competing at home in the Hillsdale Outdoor Invitational meet in two weeks, Osborne said.
“We’re excited to compete at our outdoor track—we have the best facility in the GMAC, and I think our coaches and the athletic department bring a contagious excitement to these meets,” Osborne said.
The Chargers will compete next week at two meets, with some at the Texas Relays at the University of Texas Mar 26-29 while the rest compete at the Tiffelberg Open at Tiffin University Mar 29.
