The Observer, April 11, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 24
In Cincy, men are last and women aren't far ahead
Case's track and field team traveled to the highly competitive Oliver Nikoloff Invitational at the University of Cincinnati on April 5 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The men were dead last out of the 18-strong field, scoring only 1.50 points. The women finished 14th of 19, scoring 11 points. Cincinnati's men's and women's teams both were in the top spot, each with over 200 points.
On the men's side, junior Joshua Ward finished 10th in the 3000-meter steeplechase in a time of 10:06.50 "and was happy to place against people from other divisions," senior Tyler Youngquist placed 11th in the 5000-meter run in 15:14.54; junior Dominic Smith placed 12th in the 1500-meter run in a time of 4:02.81 to round out the Spartans' top runs. Smith noted that the run wasn't the best of his career, "but that it was a good enough time to be in the top 10."
Also placing were Mike Davis in the 400-meter dash with a time of 55.38 seconds and Victor Whitelock with a top 25 performance in the 800-meter dash, with a time of 1:58.37. Mike Vaughn, Adam Goodrich, and Mark Grogan ran the same event and respectively placed in that order. "It was nice to see some of my teammates in the same event, and it motivated me to run my hardest," said Whitelock.
In field events, senior Andrew Pozzuto finished ninth in the javelin throw with a toss of 44.57 meters. Obinna Nwanna recorded a high jump of 1.90 meters. Brandon Jeffries, Ryan Breon, and Matt Kamalsky finished in the top 32 of the men's shot put, recording 13.35, 11.96, and eight meters, respectively. Breon, Pozzuto and Pat Benasutti placed in the top 30 of the men's discus throw, each hovering around 37 meters.
The women had several strong outings as well in Cincinnati, many of them by the freshmen on the squad. Going against 18 schools from all three NCAA divisions made it that much tougher to place in the events. Freshman Katelyn Bush placed well in the 100-meter dash as she beat out most of her rivals with a personal best time of 13.93 seconds.
Freshman Justine Jeroski placed third in the 3000-meter steeplechase in a time of 11:26.94 and junior Kristen Bowhers finished eighth in the 1500-meter run in a time of 4:49.08, leading the Spartans in the running events. Bowhers, after the run, felt that she "finished the race out strong and was able to pace herself throughout the race."
The high level of competition on the field spoke for itself in Cincy. Freshman Andrea Fischione ran the 1500-meter run in a time of 5:04.37, which placed her 22nd out of 52 runners.
In field events, junior Elizabeth Ehrke recorded a milestone throw in the discus with a throw of 41.56 meters, placing her eighth overall, and qualified provisionally for the NCAA nationals. Ehrke felt it would be "special and an honor to represent Case in the NCAAs." Keep an eye on freshman Kali Knolle, who recorded an eighth-place finish in the triple jump with a jump of 10.02 meters. The Spartans will be competing at Ohio Wesleyan University this weekend for the 2008 All-Ohio Championships.
