Since the return from spring break, everything has been going according to plan for the Oberlin track and field teams as the Yeomen and Yeowomen have made the College proud by putting up great performances.

The first meet after break was the dual meet at the College of Wooster on April 11. Although the meet was non-scoring, Oberlin had three athletes claiming victories in their various events. First-year Piper Niehaus finished first in the 1500-meter run while juniors Kate Cook and Lily Krichels claimed the top spots in discus and the 200-meter respectively.

On April 18, the teams headed down to Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio to represent the college at the All-Ohio Championships.         The Oberlin seniors set the pace at that meet as two of them shattered school records while another placed third in his event.

Senior Ariane Burwell finished the steeplechase in 11:27.25, breaking a record she had previously set, and earning third place in the event. Senior Barrie Newberger crossed the finish line for the 1500-meter run at 4:40.45, finishing in second position and setting a school record. John Shaw finished the 10,000-meter run in 32 minutes and 32:38:12 and claimed the third position. The Yeowomen ended the day in tenth place while the men finished in 16th.

Last weekend, the team was in Gambier, Ohio at the Kenyon Invitational. Four athletes won their respective events, two achieved second place and three others had fourth place finishes. Once again, Newberger took the lead as she claimed first position in the 800-meter run in 2:16:17. Sophomores Maddy Davis-Hayes, Corey Squire and Kyle Taljan continued the trend as they claimed victory in the 1500-meter run, 3000-meter steeple chase and javelin throw, respectively.

Cook and junior Deysi Villarreal finished in second place in the hammer throw and pole vault, respectively, while senior Micah Peterson and sophomores Conor Doss and Ryan King claimed fourth place in the 200-, 800- and 1500-meter races. The entire team was motivated by these strong performances and the athletes are in good spirits for upcoming NCAA action.

Junior sprinter and jumper Chisara Nwabara commented on the team’s strong performances. “After this past weekend, it seems very clear to me that as a team, we are ready for conference next week. Everyone is improving from meet to meet and we are all prepared to do extremely well against the competition.”

The women’s team returned from the Kenyon invitational in fourth place while the men’s team finished in seventh.

The track team is in action again this Saturday, April 28 at the Baldwin Wallace Sparky Adams Invite.