On Saturday, April 22, the Oberlin College men’s and women’s track and field teams traveled to Kenyon for the Kenyon Invitational. The meet proved successful for both squads. These successes included multiple personal records in addition to two school records.

The Yeomen ended the meet with 85 points, which was good for a sixth placing overall. Although the Yeomen did not set any school records, several did the next best thing by achieving personal bests.

“At Kenyon we competed against many schools from within our conference, and the team’s overall performance makes me optimistic about the conference championships. The standout performances belie the caliber of depth the team is developing,” first-year distance runner Connor Doss said while thinking over the performances.

Senior captain Shean Perry broke his personal record in the pole vault, earning first place with a height of 14’00’’. First-year Kyle Taljan also competed in this event, placing third with a jump of 12’6”.

Sophomore Andrew Pike and senior Gabo Golden rounded out the set of competitors that improved upon personal bests. Golden set his personal record in the hammer throw with a distance of 84’, a toss that was good for fifth. Pike ran the 800-meter in 2.01.73, a time that was also good for fifth. Doss ran the 800-meter with Pike and finished fourth, with a time of 2:00.27.

Wrapping up the meet for the Yeomen were junior John Shaw and first-year Corey Squire who both competed in the 5k. Shaw finished in 15:44.48, placing him in third. Squire came in narrowly on Shaw’s tail, finishing in fourth with a time of 15.52.27.

The Yeowomen were equally successful, finishing up in fifth with a total of 72 points. First-year Kirsten Hansen-Day left the meet having set a new school record in the pole vaulting event. Hansen-Day cleared 9’6.25”. With this new record, Hansen-Day now holds both the indoor and outdoor vaulting records.

First-year Nicky Ouellet led the Yeowomen with a first place finish in the 5k. Ouellet’s time in this race was 19:14.12. The fact that this was her first 5k only compounds the success of the race.

“This was the first time I’ve run the 5k for track, so I didn’t know what to expect. The race was fun, and the support from the team was overwhelming. Oberlin has the best cheerers in the whole conference; I feel that that is something to be proud of,” Ouellet said of her own performance.

The throwers also had an impressive meet. Sophomore Katahdin Cook led the team by setting a school record in the hammer throw. Cook threw 84’8”, which placed her third. Senior captain Katie Au competed extremely well in the javelin throw with a throw of 93’5”. This landed her solidly in second place.

“It was impressive at our last meet to see the talent and energy on our team. Conference will be so exciting this year; everyone is peaking at just the right time and the team is showing itself to be the most enthusiastic and loudest in the conference,” Ouellet said in looking forward to the conference meet.

The Yeomen and Yeowomen will travel to the College of Wooster this weekend. The College of Wooster Classic will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 28.