Trojans Complete First Trip to Indoor Nationals

Philiph competing in the mile race

The Hannibal-LaGrange track & field team sent its first representatives to the NAIA Indoor National Championships this week in Johnson City, Tennessee and the trio that competed gained some valuable experience that will benefit the team in the future.

Sophomore Philiph Tonui (Kericho, Kenya) competed in two events at the national meet. On Thursday, Philiph ran the 5,000m race and, despite battling sickness, toughed out the grueling race to finish with a time of 15:35.74, which was good for 28th place. The following day, Philiph toed the line for an exciting mile race and felt much better, placing 14th with a time of 4:23.40.

Carissa in the 3,000m Race Walk

Junior Carissa Eichmeyer (Marthasville, MO) took part in the 3,000m race walk event on Friday and took home a 13th-place finish with a time of 18:13.72, her third consecutive race where she finished faster than the automatic qualifying standard for the event.

Junior Cara Grinde (Monroe City, MO) competed in the pole vault and unfortunately fell victim to an unusually high starting height by being one of 14 participants to not clear the opening height.

Coach Comments: It was a historic week for HLG Track & Field and I am very proud of Carissa, Cara, and Philiph for representing our school well at the national meet. They competed against the nation's elite and proved that they belong. As our team continues to grow and our number of national qualifiers increases, we will be able to look back fondly on this experience appreciate the significance of what this group has accomplished. The Lord has blessed our school and team with such great student-athletes and I look forward to seeing what the outdoor season has in store.

CHAMPIONSHIP MEET RESULTS

The team will enjoy the upcoming spring break before kicking off the outdoor track & field season on March 20 at Central Methodist.