Photo by Abigail MacMillan
By Olivia Good
SELINSGROVE, Pa.- Susquehanna hosted 20 colleges on Saturday, Feb. 18 for its track and field SU Tune Up invitational.
Schools as far as Virginia and as close as Bloomsburg attended this meet to display their best talents. Athletes across the board secured fast times, far throws, high vaults, and long jumps to increase points for their schools.
The 60-meter dash marked the first sprinting race of the day. The men had one top-eight finisher, Matthew Masser. He placed sixth with a time of 7.33 seconds. The women had two athletes finish in the top eight. Addison Yaukey placed eighth with a time of 8.34 seconds and Kelly Laughlin snatched fifth with a time of 8.24 seconds.
In the 200-meter dash, the men had one top-eight finisher, and the women had two. Ezra Miller with 23.64 placed sixth for the men, Liza Levin took eighth for the women with a time of 28.48, and Loughlin again secured fifth with 28.21 seconds. Levin also placed third in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:02.17. Rowan Smith, with a time of 53.48, took fifth place in the same event for the men.
Susquehanna athletes also achieved points and personal records in long-distance races. TJ Grenada secured seventh place in the men’s mile, and Emma Myers took the same place for the women in that event.
Declan Griffin finished the 5000 with a personal record of 17:04.04, placing ninth in this event.
The most successful event for Susquehanna was the 60-meter hurdles in both the men’s and women’s competitions. Ben Bulger, though placing second in the preliminary round, secured third place with a time of 8.81 seconds in the finals. First-year Carter Smink took first place in the preliminary and final race with 8.51 seconds.
“Every track meet is an opportunity to compete and improve my time, and I was happy to win this past meet,” says Smink. “The team is excited for Landmark Championships. We are ready to showcase several months’ worth of hard work.”
As for the women, senior Chloe Yoder locked in her first-place win in the hurdles with a time of 8.89 seconds. She also tied the school’s record with this run.
Susquehanna’s so-called “tune-up” did not stop on the track. The field events on both the men’s and women’s sides succeeded throughout the meet.
Austin Hurrell placed second in the long jump with 22 feet and one inch. Smith and Bulger also jumped far enough to sneak into the top 10, with Smith in ninth and Bulger in 10th. Ethan Roe took sixth place in the triple jump with 38 1 1/2. Remi Acord placed first in the women’s long jump with 17 5 1/2.
Susquehanna had two athletes on each team make the top eight of the pole vault. Sarah Bower and Brooke Leitzel secured seventh and eighth place for the women, respectively. Thomas Stitt placed seventh for the men, and Isaiah Blatt took home a first-place win with a height of 14 feet and 11.25 inches.
Susquehanna excelled in throwing. Ryan McDonald secured fifth place in shot put and fourth place in the weight throw. Margaret Boyer placed second in the shot put with a throw of 40 feet and 6.25 inches, a personal record. She also broke the Susquehanna women’s weight throw record by two feet and placed third in this event with a throw of 49 6.
The end of the indoor season is this coming Saturday. The track and field team will host the Landmark Conference Championships in the field house.
