As spring approaches, the Greenville University’s Track and Field Teams begin their outdoor seasons. The track and field athletes traveled to Terre Haute, Indiana to participate at the William M. Welch Track Complex of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on Saturday, March 20th. The men’s team competed against five other teams, and they were able to bring home third place in their first track meet of the outdoor season.
The 4×100-meter relay team consisting of Di’Mond Salmond, Carson Rantanen, Jared Beyers, and Hunter Matthews brought top honors to this event with first place. The impressive time of 42.88 seconds revealed their true success. Rantanen expressed, “The relay team did very well for our first time ever running it. We managed first with okay handoffs, and I would say the key to a fast relay, especially the 4×100, is moving the baton as fast as possible.” The relay team also contributed immensely to other events as well. Rantanen disclosed, “My race went pretty good battling a headwind in the 100.” Rantanen triumphantly placed first in the 100-meter dash in 11.01 seconds. Salmond followed closely behind with 11.43 seconds, taking second place. Matthews placed second in the high jump with a height of 6’, 3”. Salmond added his touch by placing third place in the triple jump with a distance of 41’, 10” and fifth place in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.54 seconds. Beyers proved his season best in the 400-meter dash by placing second with a time of 50.45 seconds. In addition, Dylan Webster placed first in the pole vault with a school record jump of 14’, and Wesley Kile placed fourth with 13’. In his first outing, Justin Miller placed second in the javelin with a nice throw of 140’, 8”. Lastly, the men ran well in both the 800 and 1500-meter runs. Gianni Estrada led the 1500-meter run with of time of 4:09.87 to place him in fourth.
As for the women’s team, they competed against four other teams. Greenville University brought home third place in the track and field outdoor competition. The Lady Panthers ran well in both the 800 and 1500-meter events as well. In the 1500, Hannah Williams ran an impressive early season time of 5:13, earning her fourth place. Alexa Seger placed first in the women’s 100-meter dash with a time of 13.29 seconds. Seger also placed fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 28.15 seconds. Tawny Rodriguez had a successful day by placing first in the discus throw with a distance of 117’, first place in the shot put at 35’6, and third place in the hammer throw with a length of 113’. Savannah Maloney placed second in the shot put with a measurement of 34’, 2.25”. Maloney also placed fourth place in the discus throw after producing an attempt of 97′, 11″. Lastly, Ashley Smith placed fourth in the hammer throw after reaching 94′, 1″.
Coach Brian Patton states enthusiastically, “Next week, we have an unusual circumstance as we will have to split the team with the distance runners traveling to the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Cross Country Championships in Litchfield, Illinois at the Litchfield Country Club. The sprinters, jumpers, and throwers will compete at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.” Certainly, the Greenville University fans and faculty wish the men and women athletes the best of luck and continued success in their journey throughout the track and field outdoor season.
Media by Seth Isringhausen.
