This past weekend was a busy one for Taylor’s track and field team. Both the men’s and women’s teams had outstanding performances at the Crossroads League Championships. The women’s team finished fourth overall with 125.5 points. The men’s team finished fifth with a total of 66 points.
Individually, the warm weather sparked a fire within many of the athletes with personal records being set left and right.
In the jumping events, there were six PRs. Senior Jake Thompson jumped 2.02 meters which was a B-standard qualifying mark. Freshman Nadia Rhoades jumped 1.55 meters in the high jump. Freshman Lyndon Miller tied his PR in the high jump at 1.87 meters.
The long jumpers also had some outstanding performances. Sophomore Kiana Siefert had a winning mark at 5.75 meters which also hit B-standard. Freshman Casey Boeckerman jumped 5.35 meters and sophomore Isaac Elkin jumped 6.73 meters. Miller also achieved a PR in the triple jump with a 12.35-meter mark.
However, the jumpers were not the only ones crushing previous records. In the 1500-meter, sophomore Kaitlin Burden ran a 4:46, sophomore Noel VanderWall ran a 4:33, sophomore Emersyn Funk ran a 4:53, junior Lynae Ackley ran a 5:10, and junior Grayson Rasmus ran a 4:07. Sophomore Alex Ortiz ran a 15:10 in the 5K. Junior Audrey Brinkruff ran a 11:12, and Sophomore Jared Stayte ran a 9:28 in the steeplechase. Senior Nathan Brainer ran a 1:53, and senior James Bates ran a 1:57 in the 800-meter sprint. Also obtaining PRs in the 800-meter sprint were senior Olivia Jeanette ran a 2:20, and senior Emily Johnson ran a 2:17.
Sprinters brought the need for speed. Freshman Dean Moshier reached PRs in the 400-meter running a 52.58 and in the 200-meter with a time of 23.23. Other PRs in the 200-meter include Freshman Daniel Bates with a 24.26 and freshman Caleb Forseth with a 24.63. Freshman Elyse Hoylman ran a 61.42 in the open 400-meter dash. Sophomore D’Arjha Davis ran the open 100-meter dash in 12.12 seconds which tied her previous PR.
The hurdlers cruised through the 400 hurdles. Freshman Claire Bailey ran a 1:06, sophomore Jo-Hanna Kraal ran a 1:22 and junior Braden Bixler ran a time of 54.09. Sophomore Abby Portolese had an amazing performance in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.61.
Sophomore Grace Anderson set a throwing PR with a mark of 20.34 meters in the javelin throw.
Overall, the track and field team had a great weekend with many great performances. Many of the athletes received awards and hit PRs. All the work throughout the season has paid off for the Trojans.
