Curtis Meyer reporter
It’s been a strong season for both men’s and women’s track and field teams this year to date, and that trend continued last weekend as the Gorillas hosted the Wendy’s PSU Invitational. With only three events left before the MIAA Championships, things are starting to ramp up this season.
“I thought it was a great weekend, collectively as a team. It’s always good to see all your teammates compete, see them on the track, the runway, and the field. I think overall it was really fun to watch everybody compete, a lot of really good performances,” said head coach Kyle Rutledge.
The men’s team gathered three individual wins and got 13 NCAA qualifying marks, while the women’s team took first in seven different categories with 21 NCAA qualifying marks.
Starting on the men’s side, Pitt State took home a 1-2-3 win in the mile run as junior distance runner Mason Strader took first, senior runner Matthew Oglesby took second and freshmen runner Dylan Sprecker took home third.
Junior transfer Tre Betts claimed first place in the triple jump with the fourth best mark in school history, while freshmen vaulter Grayson Smith took first in the pole vault for Pitt State, posting the second-best mark in school history.
Junior sprinter Daylin Williams captured second place in the 60-meter hurdles, junior Cole Sample found a third-place finish in the shot put, junior Branden Zaner was second in the 5000 meters, and a combination of Zaner, freshmen Camron Jefferson, junior Riley Hedges, and Oglesby took home second in the distance medley.
“Excellent performances across the board, we had some newcomers that nobody had seen compete before and they showed up and did a great job. Overall, very impressive performance, kids competing, how they competed as a team, overall, just good across the board,” said coach Rutledge.
On the girls’ side, sophomore Taniya Looney took home two golds, winning both the 60 meters and the 200 meters, matching her school record in the 60.
Sophomore Blakelee Winn won first in the long jump, freshmen Hannah Gibson won the 5000 meters, senior Allary Liberatore took gold in the high jump, junior Kate Dawson was first in the 800 meters, and last but not least the distance medley of Gibson, freshmen Kelsey Bruening, sophomore Hailey Secrest, and Dawson took home the gold.
Junior Kyla Davis took second in the pole vault, junior Diandrenique Gaines was second in the 60-meter, senior Taylor Nelloms won second in the high jump, and junior Marissa Dick claimed silver in the 5,000 meters.
Looking ahead, the end of the season is looming as the Gorillas begin to gear up for MIAA Championships and the National level beyond that. Keeping focused and keeping the ultimate goal in sight becomes paramount for the Gorillas.
“Right now, the middle part of the season, one of our focuses is to just start putting things together. Execute properly, make sure we’re mentally focused during the meet and I think this meet was a great test,” said coach Rutledge.
“We just keep the course and trust the process, just keep doing what we do on a daily basis. Holding each other accountable, I think we’ll be just fine,” said coach Rutledge.
