The All-Ohio Championships on Saturday, April 15 showcased a strong Spartan team just before the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships.

Earlier in the week, third-year student Sam Merriman broke the school record in the 5,000-meter run at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Invitational. Merriman broke the school’s previous 5,000-meter run record of 14:33.40 by more than three seconds, improving the record to 14:29.93. Despite the record-breaking performance, Merriman only placed eighth in the event.

During the All-Ohio Championships, Case Western Reserve University’s men’s track and field team finished in third place and the Spartan women placed eighth out of 17. Both segments of the team saw first-place finishes and showed promise as the team looks ahead to the conference championships next weekend.

Fourth-year student Nathaniel Wahner won two events, and also broke a school record. He won the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.67 seconds, breaking the previous school record of 10.78 seconds that had stood for 28 years. Additionally, Wahner won the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.23 seconds.

The Spartans took third in the 4×100-meter relay with a time of 42.43 seconds thanks to the team comprised of Wahner and third-year students Ben Zelkin, Zak Hurd and Adrian Cannon.

Also earning third for the CWRU men was second-year student Ananth Suresh who competed in the triple jump event and recorded a distance of 13.18 meters.

Overall, the Spartan men scored 76 points total. Wahner’s standout day was the highlight of the potential for CWRU’s men at the UAA championships.

Changing focus to the Spartan women, third-year student Marie-Louise Kloster was the most impressive Spartan at the meet after she took second in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:05.05.

Second-year student Shannon Carroll’s performance was also impressive . She took third in the javelin throw after completing a throw of 36.10 meters. Carroll also took third place in the shot put with a mark of 12.17 meters.

The CWRU women finished the All-Ohio Championships with 50 points. Like their male counterparts, they showed promise for next week’s conference meet.

For both the men and women, Ohio Wesleyan University took first overall, laying a strong claim that their program is the best in Ohio this year.
Now the team has to simply rest up and prepare for the two-day UAA championships this coming weekend. If Wahner and Merriman’s record-breaking performances are any indication, the Spartans are in for a high finish among their conference rivals.