Track and field teams compete at Kent State

Last Saturday, the Carnegie Mellon track and field teams returned to action to compete at the Kent State Tune-Up. Both teams saw several individual bests, but the highlight of the meet was when senior Nicholas Bannister set a new school record in the men’s 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.75. He placed sixth overall in the race.

Also for the men, first-year Chris Bogie took third place in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 40.20. Behind Bogie, senior Jeff Polack (41.46) and sophomore Craig Hahn (42.20) took 10th and 12th, respectively.

In the men’s distance events, sophomore Brian Harvey (8:28.42) nearly set a school record in the 3000-meter run, finishing third overall. Fellow sophomore Raphael Bertrand (2:43.37) also had a strong day, finishing ninth in the 1000-meter run. In the 5000-meter run, sophomore Breck Fresen finished 12th with a time of 15:39.71. First-year Dario Donatelli (15:45.74) and sophomore Andrew Frederickson (15:48:03) finished 15th and 17th, respectively.
Junior Drew Miller (4:23.21) and senior Geoff Misek (4:23.35) finished 18th and 20th, respectively, in the one-mile run.

Senior Davey Quinn (1:55.34) placed third in the 800-meter run, while junior Kiley Williams (50.61) finished 14th in the 400-meter dash.

For the Tartan men, four jumpers finished the triple jump in the top 15. Senior Eric Tang (13.08 meters) led the team with an eighth-place finish. Sophomores Colin Marks (13.03 meters) and Joel Palko (12.83 meters) followed to finish ninth and 11th, respectively. First-year Eric Couphos came in 13th with a 12.73-meter jump.

In the long jump, Tang (6.13 meters) led the team again with a 17th-place finish.

“My performance today was not too great,” Tang said. “I’m expecting to win UAAs. We came in second last year, and I feel like our team is a lot stronger this time around.”

Junior Michael Reggie threw for 14.53 meters in the weight throw to finish 19th. The men’s 4x400-meter relay team had a strong run and took fifth with a time of 3:24.04.

On the women’s side, junior Shauna Ormon (1:01.89) almost set a school record in the 400-meter dash, finishing 22nd overall. In the 600-meter run, first-year Diane Mattingly (1:46.04) took seventh place, while senior Amber Fuller (1:46.04) finished right behind Mattingly for ninth place.

“We’re all in good shape and we’ve been training all fall and winter for the [UAAs]. So hopefully we all perform our best and get the times,” said sprinter Jacki Andreozzi.

In the 3000-meter run, first-year Danielle Sedlack came in 19th with a time of 11:32.22.

In the one-mile run, sophomore Carolyn Clayton came in 15th with a time of 5:27.80. First-year Roxanne Viray finished 14th in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 52.62.

Both first-year Anna Lenhart and senior Heidi Crothaus vaulted 2.75 meters to finish 13th and 14th, respectively, in the pole vault.

Junior Adriane Soehner threw for 12.26 meters to earn a 19th-place finish in the weight throw. The women’s 4x400-meter team closed the day with an 11th-place finish in the relay with a time of 4:16.38.

“At last year’s UAAs, the women’s team placed seventh out of seven teams,” junior mid-distance runner Ashley Bakelmun said. “We have nowhere to go but up.”

The men’s and women’s track and field teams will have a week off before traveling to Brandeis University for the indoor UAA championships in two weeks.