The men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in two impressive meets over the past two weeks. The most recent meet was the All-Ohio Championship on April 15 at Ohio Wesleyan University. As the name suggests, the All-Ohio meet featured all of the division three schools in Ohio. This intense meet was described perfectly by junior John Shaw.

“Last week was probably the most competitive meet we go to all year. I think we all gained a lot of confidence from racing in such elite fields.”

The women completed the day’s events in 14th place, while the men finished 20th. The Yeowomen were led by first-year Flannery Cerbin, who competed in two events. She ran the 800 in 2:21.02 and the 1500 in 4:49.75. Both times were good for a solid second place. First-year Maddy Davis-Hayes also ran the 1500-meter. She completed the race with a time of 4:56.16, which was good for seventh place.

On the Yeomen’s side, Shaw finished fourth in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 33:33.87. Sophomore Cody Hartley also had an impressive meet, competing in the 400-meter hurdles. Hartley placed 11th in this race, with a time of 59.36. Sophomore Cassius Harris competed in the long jump, jumping 20’3”, placing him securely in ninth place. Lastly, first-year Corey Squire also posted a ninth place finish in the 3000-meter run with a time of 10:00.41.

Prior to the All-Ohio meet, the teams competed on April 8th at two different schools. Sprinting, distance and field events travelled to Mount Union, while throwing split off and travelled to Case Western Reserve. The reason for this division was that the throwing squad wanted to compete in the hammer throw, an event not offered at the Mount Union competition. The highlight for the throwers was senior Katie Au, who placed second in the javelin throw, throwing 92’00”. This throw was a seven-foot improvement on Au’s personal record. Sophomore Katahdin Cook also had an impressive meet, placing ninth in the shot-put with a throw of 31’03”.

Reflecting on the throwers’ performances, Cook said, “The throwers overall had a very successful day. We had five [personal records] on Saturday in addition to Katie Au’s second place finish. We also had the privilege of throwing with one of the hammer throwers on the US Olympic team, which was an eye opening experience. Personally, I was very happy with how I threw, and I think that the excitement of my teammates’ outstanding performances really pumped me up for my own events.”

The Yeomen had a successful day at Mount Union. They were led by the 4x100-meter relay team, which placed second. The team consisted of Hartley, Harris, sophomore Nick Bartlett and first-year Kyle Taljan. On top of the relay, Harris also got second in the long jump with a jump of 20’02”. On the Yeowomen’s side, Cerbin again led the team with two impressive performances. She placed first in the 1500-meter with a final time of 4:57, and she placed second in the 800-meter, running the event in 2:25.

The track teams travel to Kenyon on Saturday, April 22 to compete in the Kenyon Invitational. The team looks to prepare themselves for the upcoming NCAC championships in early May.