MEN'S RESULTS
WOMEN'S RESULTS
A group of 12 members of the Hannibal-LaGrange University track & field team made the long trek to Ohio this past weekend to compete in the Cedarville University Invitational. This group carried high hopes for great performances with them and they did not disappoint. Despite competing with only six women and six men, both teams came through with top-5 team finishes on the day, and that was just the beginning of the accolades.
The women's team placed 5th out of 14 teams and saw their first two team members punch a ticket to the NAIA Indoor Track & Field national championships during the meet. Running the 1,000m race for the first time, freshman standout Breanna Newton gave a tremendous effort, making a last-lap surge to win the race with a time of 3:01.40. That mark, in addition to smashing the school record in the event, met the automatic qualifying standard for nationals next month. Senior Carissa Eichmeyer took to the track soon after and followed suit with a national qualifying performance of her own. Carissa finished in eighth place in the talent-stocked race and her time of 18:23.46 was more than enough to claim a return trip to indoor nationals.
The women nearly added a third national qualifier in senior pole vaulter Cara Grinde, who finished 2nd in the event with a mark of 3.20m (10'6"). Cara elected to bypass an attempt at 11'0" and, due to the fact that they standards were increasing six inches at a time, she was unable to jump at the qualifying standard of 11'3". Instead, she took three strong attempts at 11'6", just barely missing on her final vault. Teammate Cailey Wilkinson had a strong effort as well, placing 5th with a mark of 3.05m (10'0").
A pair of freshmen middle distance runners gave a pair of strong performances for the women's team. Mandi Riddle placed 3rd in the 1,000m race (3:19.91) after coming through with a 5th place finish earlier in the 600m dash (1:47.37). Sarah Wilson took 3rd in the 600m dash (1:45.37) and wrapped up her day with a 9th place finish (27.29) in the 200m dash.
The men's team also took home a 5th place finish out of the 15 schools competing. Junior Andre Townsend got the meet started with an outstanding performance in the 55m hurdles. After qualifying first in the preliminary round (7.58), Andre came back to post a winning time of 7.36 in the finals. That effort broke both the meet and Cedarville Fieldhouse records, in addition to being a new school record. Andre's performance also vaulted him into the top position in the NAIA in the event heading into the last week of the regular season. Also in the 55m Hurdles, Assistant Coach Jason Scott competed in the event for the first time in 2011 and placed 3rd with a time of 7.67.
Having already qualified for nationals in the 5K, junior Philiph Tonui took a break from long distance races to work on his speed, and he found success, placing 4th in the mile with a time of 4:23.79. Philiph's effort was only 0.59 seconds off of the national qualifying standard in the event. This was his first time competing in the open mile in 2011, and he will attempt to add the qualifying mark to the one he already has in the 5K at the AMC meet next Friday.
The Trojans got a pair of strong efforts in the field events. Freshman Easton Padden cleared 4.70m (15'5") in the pole vault and that effort was good enough to hit the qualifying standard for the indoor national meet, as well as placing 2nd overall. His effort also broke his own school record set earlier in the season. Coach Scott also competed in the pole vault and won the event at his alma mater with a mark of 5.25m (17'2.275") and was just one inch off of the meet and fieldhouse records that he already owns from his time at Cedarville. Freshman Bernardo Massuchin had another strong showing in the long jump, placing 4th with a leap of 6.62m (21'8.75").
In the 600m dash, Freshman Cole Peck came through with a 5th place effort in a time of1:27.55, a new school record. Teammate Stephen McTeer continued to show he was progressing from a broken collarbone suffered at the end of the fall semester and placed 9th in the same event with a time of 1:29.22. In the 200m dash, the Trojans picked up two more top-10 finishes with Bernardo Massuchin placing 7th (23.66) and Cole Peck 8th (23.77) in the event.
COACH COMMENTS: We decided to take this group all the way to Ohio because they wanted to compete against strong competition and hit qualifying standards for the indoor national meet. The folks we brought were all focused and put forth one of the strongest team efforts ever at HLG. All twelve of the athletes scored points for the team and showed great determination and heart in doing so. It's easy to point out the accomplishments of the three who qualified for nationals but they all deserve a lot of credit for enduring a long trip and then coming out and competing like champions. Although our athletic accomplishments will always fall second to our desire to honor Christ with our efforts on the track, it is great to be around a group of kids who are committed to doing both with their full heart.
After the Cedarville meet, the team has now qualified five individuals for the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships, which will be held next month in Geneva, Ohio. The team will now set their sites on this coming Friday, where they will travel to Columbia, Mo to compete in the University of Missouri Collegiate Challenge. This meet will also serve as the American Midwest Conference Indoor Track & Field Championship Meet and the Trojans will compete against McKendree, Missouri Baptist, and William Woods for the AMC crown. The meet is scheduled to begin at 2pm on Friday at Hearnes Fieldhouse, on the campus of the University of Missouri.
NAIA Indoor T & F National Qualifiers
Breanna Newton - 1,000m
Carissa Eichmeyer - 3,000m Race Walk
Andre Townsend - 60m Hurdles
Philiph Tonui - 5,000m
Easton Padden - Pole Vault
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