Track and field starts season with solid performance

Fourth-year+veteran+sprinter+Ben+Zelkin+runs+past+his+opponent+during+the+meet.+

Daniel Brenner

Fourth-year veteran sprinter Ben Zelkin runs past his opponent during the meet.

In their first indoor competition of the season, the Case Western Reserve University track and field teams turned in a solid performance at the Fifth Annual Spartan Holiday Classic on Dec. 2 at Horsburgh Gymnasium. The men’s team finished first out of six teams with 124 points, and the women’s team placed second with 115 points.

Fourth-year veteran thrower Cassandra Laios broke her own school record with a 13.65 meter throw in the shot put event. She finished in second place in the shot put and also added a third place finish in the weight throw event with a heave of 15.77 meters. Laios ranks first in the University Athletic Association (UAA) in both events.

In the long jump, second-year returning field athlete Dominic Oddo set a new school record with a 6.97 meter jump, though he still finished in second place in the event. Oddo added a third place finish in the high jump (1.82 meters) and a first place finish in the 60 meter hurdles (8.94 seconds). He currently ranks first in the UAA in the long jump and second in the high jump.

Turning in first place performances were first-year rookie runner Kiera Olson (one mile run), second-year returning runner Michael Hradesky (800 meter run), fourth-year veteran runner Andrew Ibibo (400 meter dash) and the 4×200-meter relay team of fourth-year veteran runner Grant Mlack, second-year returning runner Jonathan Haling, Ibibo and Oddo.

The Spartans earned five second place finishes at the meet, including four by individuals.

Fourth-year veteran runner Skylar Braga finished second in the 60-meter dash, second-year returning field athletes Samantha Kelts and Abby Waltz finished second in the triple jump and pole vault, respectively, and Mlack finished second in the 60-meter hurdles. Also, the women’s 4×200-meter relay team with fourth-year veteran runner Marie-Louise Kloster, third-year veteran runner Olivia Newman and first-year rookie runners Julie Hines and J’Niah Johnston-Reynolds finished second.

The Spartans return to action on Friday, Dec. 8 when the teams take part in the Kent State Golden Gala in Kent, Ohio. The next home event is the Battle for the Obelisk on Jan. 27, a dual meet against Carnegie Mellon University.