SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – Taking in some more favorable competition conditions, the Alma College track and field team enjoyed a truer Michigan spring day at the Bill Bippes Cougar Classic, hosted by Spring Arbor University on Saturday, April 11th. The Scots saw numerous top ten finishers throughout the day as they prepare for the MIAA Field Day come the end of the month.

Diving into the men's side of the competition, Trace Laskey picked up a ninth-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.54, ahead of teammate Kiefer Trimmer who finished in tenth with a time of 17.87. In the 400-meter race, the Scots claimed sixth, seventh and eighth place as Aiden Tornberg, Luke Martin and Phillip Banner all finished in that order. Tornberg's time of 50.73 was a personal best as Martin and Banner finished with times of 50.93 and 51.32, respectively. Laskey also picked up an eighth-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles with a personal best time of 59.98 as Alma's highest finisher. 

Focusing on the field events, Jerrold Atwell finished in seventh in the discus throw with a mark of 38.91 meters for Alma. Callen Hagey and Richard Semmelroch both placed fourth and seventh, respectively, in the hammer throw as Hagey threw for a personal best, 46.46 meters and Semmelroch reached a personal best of 40.55 meters. In the high jump, Joshua Oziwele finished sixth as her cleared the bar at 1.86 meters as Alma's highest placer. Austin Thompson collected a third-place finish in the javelin throw, meeting a mark of 44.92 meters, just shy of his personal best. Ed Markarian finished fifth behind Thompson with a mark of 44.47 meters and Leland Edelyn finished in ninth with a throw of 37.56. Markarian also finished fourth in the long jump with a mark of 6.26 meters with teammate Nick Mikesell behind him in sixth with a jump of 6.13 meters. In the pole vault, Nikolas Savoie finished in seventh with a clear of 3.90 meters, followed by Edelyn, who cleared 3.75 meters for eighth. In the shot put, Atwell threw for 12.66 meters, placing fourth, while Semmelroch threw for 12.44 meters, placing sixth. Three more top ten finishers came in the triple jump as Markarian finished fourth with a mark of 12.70 meters, Mikesell finished fifth with a mark of 12.26 meters and Justin Goodman finished ninth with a mark of 11.55 meters. The Scots also collected a second-place finish in the 4x400 meter relay as the team of Aiden Aldrich, Tornberg, Banner and Martin finished in a time of 3:27.61.

Diving into women's side of action, MaryAlice Lynch claimed a fifth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.34. Helena Snyder finished in tenth with a time of 16.87 seconds. Lauren Brawt picked up a fifth-place finish in the 400-meter run with a time of 1:01.08 as Alma's highest finisher. Kaitelyn Walker scored a ninth-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:14.93 as well. Chloe Colton was the Scots top finisher in the 1500-meter run with a time of 5:16.70, while the Scots added a third place, ninth place and tenth place finish in the 5000-meter run by Sophia Dech, Melanie Werner and Erica Slocum. Dech led the Scots with a time of 8:49. 20, followed by Werner at 9:48.99 and Slocum at 9:53.08.

For the field events, Sarah Krupa led the Scots in the discus throw with a mark of 36.91 meters, a personal best, for fifth place. Ella Moylan finished in seventh with a throw of 36.22 meters, also a personal best, followed by Julia Haggart, with a mark of 35.06 meters, another personal best. Moylan also claimed tenth place in the hammer throw with a personal best mark of 35.79 meters. Snyder finished fifth in the high jump competition with a clear of the bar at 1.53 meters, followed by Kaidyn Maida who finished ninth at 1.43 meters. Alisha Isenberg also claimed ninth in the javelin throw with a mark of 25.69 meters. Brawt was the lone Scots competitor in the long jump, finishing sixth with a jump of 5.00 meters. Lynch was the top Scot in the pole vault with a personal best clearance of 3.08 meters for fifth place, followed by Lauren McCarthy in eighth at 2.78 meters. Moylan and Haggart finished fourth and eighth, respectively, in the shot put with throws of 11.00 meters and 10.30 meters. The 4x800 meter relay team of Sophia Sanford, Slocum, Werner and Dech claimed second place with a time of 10:38.79. The 4x400 meter relay team of Brawt, Jordan Fox, Maida and Snyder claimed third with a time of 4:13.49.

Alma will now have some time before the multi-event athletes will open the MIAA Field Day next week with the combined events. The combined events will take place at Hope College in Holland, Michigan on Monday and Tuesday, April 20th and 21st, starting at 11:00 AM both days.