ADRIAN, Mich. – Taking part in the two-day Don Kleinow Invitational for the hosted by Siena Hights University for the final time, the Alma College track and field program returned to regular season competition following the MIAA Combined Events Championship early this week. The Scots saw several personal bests along with a handful of top ten finishes throughout the action.
Diving into the action, on the women's side, Sophia Sanford and Kaitelyn Walker finished sixth and eighth, respectively, in the 400-meter hurdles with times of 1:12.61 for Sanford, a personal best and 1:16.28 for Walker. Sanford also collected a third place standing in the 3000-meter steeplechase, finishing with a time 14:42.91. Alma placed three in the top ten in the 5000-meter run as Sophia Dech led the Scots with a time of 19:35.54. Melanie Werner placed fifth with a personal best time of 19:40.09, followed by Erica Slocum in ninth place with a time of 20:02.82.
For the field events, Ella Moylan finished in second in the discus throw with a personal best throw of 36.32 meters. Teammate Sarah Krupa finished in fourth with a throw of34.77 meters. In the hammer throw, Sophia Sorensen claimed tenth with a mark of 37.34 meters, a personal best. Kaydn Maida was the Scots best finisher in the javelin throw with a mark of 27.31 meters, finishing in seventh. Taylor Recker finished just behind in eighth with a throw of 26.67 meters, followed by Alisha Isenberg in tenth with a mark of 25.19 meters. MaryAlice Lynch claimed Alma's top spot in the pole vault, reaching a mark of 2.93 meters for seventh place. Alisha Isenberg scored ninth with a personal best mark of 2.78 meters as well. Moylan also claimed an eighth place standing in the shot put, throwing for 10.88 meters, followed by Julia Haggart in tenth with a throw od 10.57 meters.
Turning to the men's side of the action, Onction Zape finished ninth in the 100 meters race, clocking a time of 10.88. in the 400-meter run, Aidan Tornberg finished in second place with a personal best time of 49.82 as Alma's highest finisher. Phillip Banner was close behind with a time of 51.05 for fifth place. Trace Laskey picked up a ninth place standing in the 400-meter hurdles, coming in with a time of 1:01.30. For distance, Noah Murphy finished ninth in the 5K run, posting a time of 16:51.62.
For field events, Nick Batista claimed ninth in the discus throw, reaching a mark of 38.32 meters. Callen Hagey increased his personal best in the hammer throw, reaching a distance of 47.34 meters to finish third. Hagey's throw keeps him in third on the all-time outdoor hammer list, just two meters shy of the school record. Teammate Richard Semmelroch finished in seventh in the hammer, with a throw of 42.33 meters, a personal best as well. In the high jump, Joshua Oziwele notched an eighth-place finish with a jump of 1.85 meters. Ed Markarian claimed a personal best in the javelin throw, reaching a distance of 45.91 meters, finishing in third. Austin Thompson finished fifth in the javelin throw with a mark of 43.20 meters as well. Markarian also added another third-place finish in the long jump, reaching a mark of 6.87 meters. Markarian improved upon his finishes with a second place in the triple jump, topping out for the day at 12.95 meters. Nick Mikesell and Justin Goodman also place in the triple jump, fourth and eighth, respectively, with marks of 12.68 and 11.62 meters. Nick Savoie was Alma's best finisher in the pole vault, finishing fourth with a height of 4.20 meters, a personal best. Three Scots placed in the shot put, starting with Batista in seventh with a throw of 12.29 meters. One position behind was Semmelroch in eighth, with a mark of 12.08 meters. In tenth, Jerrold Atwell threw for 11.66 meters for Alma as well.
Alma's 4x400 meter relay team of Aiden Aldrich, Elliot Buchan, Tornberg and Banner set a season best time of 3:23.84, finishing as the fastest team in the event at the meet. The relay team of Zape, Tristian Gist, Laskey and Goodman finished third in the 4x100 meters with a time of 42.74, tying the fourth fastest time in school history.
Alam will now prepare for the two-day MIAA Field Days to be hosted at Hope College, in hopes of claiming conference champions throughout the events. Events are set to begin at 1:00 PM on Thursday, April 30th and 10:00 AM on Friday, May 1 in Holland, Michigan.
