The Spartans shined in the Fourth Annual Case Western Reserve University Spartan Holiday Classic, totalling a large sum of top three performances. Of these top-three performances, CWRU had four first-place finishes. Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams earned top three performances for the Spartans.

Of all the first-place finishes, third-year students Andrew Ibibo and Rachel Willard had the most standout performances. Ibibo competed in the 400-meter run, completing the competition in a 50.70 seconds, well ahead of all other runners. As for Willard, she was able to secure first with an incredible jump of 10.37 meters, or roughly over 34 feet, which placed her deep into the sand pit.

Other first place finishes included second-year student Joseph Cabral, and a group of women including second-year student Olivia Newman, third-year student Skylar Braga, first-year student Bari Love and first-year student Brianna Rees. Cabral took his place on the top pedestal after a 1:59.83 run in the 800-meter run, and the four women came in first in the 4×200 meter relay. The four women completed the relay with a time of 1:49.99, the second fastest time for the event in school history.

Several students were able to grab second-place finishes for the Spartans. For the men, first-year student Jonathan Haling took second in the 400-meter run with a time of 52.22, and third-year student Grant Mlack took second in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.58. For the women, Newman took second in the 400-meter run with a time of 1:01.52 while Braga was able to earn second place in the 60-meter run after recording a time of 8.04.

Rounding out the CWRU students who earned top three finishes were several Spartans who took third place in their competition. For the women, third-year student Cassandra Laios got a distance of 14.11 meters in the weight throw competition. Additionally, second-year student Shannon Carroll took third in the 60-meter hurdles race with a time of 10.44, and Love completed the 400-meter run with a time of 1:01.52. For the men, second-year student Tyler Bushman threw for a distance of 13.61 meters in the weight throw, first-year student Dominic Oddo took third in the high jump with a jump of 1.80 meters and first-year student Mitchell Webb took third in the triple jump with a distance of 11.64 meters.

Overall, the Spartans were able to compete at a top-notch level throughout the competition, and this resulted in a pile-up of top three finishes. The indoor season continues for the Spartans on Saturday, Dec. 10 in Kent, Ohio for the Kent State Golden Gala.