Track and Field: Olivet hosts Comet Invitational
The Olivet College men’s and women’s track & field teams hosted the 2015 Comet Invitational today inside the Cutler Athletic Complex and on the Kolassa Track in Olivet. The Comet women scored 63 total points to place second, while the men had 37 points to finish in third-place.
OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College men's and women's track & field teams hosted the 2015 Comet Invitational today inside the Cutler Athletic Complex and on the Kolassa Track in Olivet. The Comet women scored 63 total points to place second, while the men had 37 points to finish in third-place.
Overall, the women had six first-place finishes. Freshman Rachael Durocher was the first to cross the finish line in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes with times of 13.08 and 27.50 seconds, respectively. She also ran the anchor leg of the winning 4x100-meter relay and the leadoff leg of the winning 4x400-meter relay.
Durocher teamed with freshman Dallas Austin, senior Cassie Ciaravino and junior Danielle Hoffman on the 4x1 relay, and their time was 52.28 seconds. Running on the 4x4 relay was Durocher along with freshmen Isabelle Leon and Jessica D'Haene, and junior Lauren Easton with a time of 4:25.74.
Freshman Michaela Kaliniak broke the school outdoor record in the pole vault, as she cleared a winning height at 2.97 meters/9 feet, 9 inches. The other winner was freshman Emily Nelson in the shot put with a toss of 9.98 meters/32 feet, 9 inches.
The Comets also had four runner-up finishers on the track – Austin in the 200-meter dash (:28.35), D'Haene in the 800-meter run (2:30.59), Leon in the 1,500-meter run (5:03.79) and freshman Abigail Gaines in the 3,000-meter run (12:12.43).
The Olivet men had three first-place finishes. Senior Andrew Benkovsky took the spot in the 1,500-meter run with a school-record time of 4:01.48. Senior Jalen Weaver led a 1-2 Comet finish in the 800-meter run. His time was 1:56.17, followed closely by sophomore Connor Bauserman at 1:57.82.
Bauserman, Benkovsky, Weaver and sophomore Darren Lumpkin ran to a winning time of 3:36.63 in the 4x400-meter relay. Bauserman also had a runner-up finish in the 200-meter run with a time of 22.85 seconds.
Olivet's best finish in the field events was turned in by sophomore Bryce Prudden in the high jump. He placed second, clearing the bar at 1.80 meters/5 feet, 10-3/4 inches. Senior Anthony Giordano broke the school record in the hammer throw at 39.06 meters/128 feet, 2 inches.
The Comets will travel to Grand Rapids next Saturday, April 25, to compete in the Aquinas College Invitational.