By Harrison LaLone, Sports Information student assistant
Marion, Ind. - The Alma College track and field team opened the outdoor portion of the schedule Friday afternoon (March 23) at the Polar Bear Invitational at Indiana Wesleyan University.
Fourteen schools competed in the invite, including three from the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletics Association: Alma, Albion College, and Olivet College.
What Happened
- The duo of sophomore John Mitrzyk (Standish, Mich./Standish-Sterling) and freshman Timothy Minier (Battle Creek, Mich./St. Philip Catholic Central) nabbed four total top-five finishes between the 100 and 200-meter dashes and set new personal-best times at each step of the way. Mitrzyk finished third in the 100-meter, fourth in the 200 while Minier finished nearly right beside Mitrzyk for fourth and fifth respectively.
- Junior Erin Goggins (Hastings, Mich./Hastings) placed third in the pole vault, clearing the bar at 3.10 meters
- Sophomore Payton Hirschenberger (Freeland, Mich./Saginaw Nouvel) took third in the triple jump, landing in the pit at 12.66 meters, less than an inch away from second. He also set a new personal-best high jump of 1.72 meters, good for eighth.
- Senior Chelse Van Spronsen (Jenison, Mich./Jenison) led the Scots in distance events, earning fourth in the 5000-meter run at a time of 18:57.18.
- Pacing the Scots in the mid-distance events was sophomore Blaire Showers (Ithaca, Mich./Ithaca), finishing the 800-meter run in 2:29.31, good for sixth.
- Freshman Grace Hearth (Freeland, Mich./Valley Lutheran) took home two top-eight finishes, sixth in the high jump at 1.45 meters and seventh in the 100-meter dash at 13.17 seconds.
They Said It
"It was great to get outside and shake the rust off. The team was very excited to get things started for the outdoor season and their performances showed it. We coaches really liked what we saw. Now we can continue to work and improve for our upcoming meets." - Head Coach Matt Chovanec
Notables
- Not only did Mitrzyk and Minier finish back-to-back in both the 100 and 200-meter dashes, Minier was within two one-hundredths of a second of Mitrzyk in both events.
Up Next
The Scots travel to Calvin College on Thursday (March 29) for a double dual with the Knights and Hope College. The mid-week meet is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
