Men’s and women’s indoor track & field teams finish in sixth-place at MIAA Championships

Kaliniak soars to MIAA title in pole vault

ANGOLA, Ind. – The Olivet College men's and women's track & field teams finished sixth-place at the 2018 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Championships, held at the Keith E. Busse/Steel Dynamics Athletic & Recreation Center in Angola, Indiana. The lone event champion for the Comets was Michaela Kaliniak who won the pole vault in a MIAA and school-record clearance of 10 feet and 10 inches.

FOR THE WOMEN

• Kaliniak cleared the bar on the first attempt at her first three heights (2.95m, 3.10m and 3.20m). She passed at 3.25 and then soared over the bar on her final try at the winning height.
• Madison Grace and Ariel Floyd scored in two throwing events. In the weight throw, Grace was the runner-up (46 feet and 11-3/4 inches), while Floyd was fourth (44 feet and 5-1/2 inches). In the shot put, Floyd placed fourth (37 feet and 1 inch), while Grace placed seventh (36 feet and 1-1/4 inches).
• The distance medley team of Isabelle Leon, Samantha Torres, Abigail Gaines and Nicole Zerfas placed fourth in a school-record time of 13:44.16.
• Leon had the seventh-fastest time in the 800-meter run at 2:28.03.

FINAL TEAM SCORES

1. Hope 131.50, 2. Trine (Ind.) 130.0, 3. Albion 128.50, 4. Calvin 115.0, 5. Adrian 45.0, 6. OLIVET 40.0, 7. Alma 31.0.

FOR THE MEN

• Bruce Baker had the Comets' top finish, as he placed second in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:27.03. He also crossed the line fifth in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 9:11.88.
• Tyler Chavalia finished fifth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.10 seconds and sixth in the 200-meter dash with a school-record time of 23.11 seconds.
• Jacob Smith posted Olivet's best performance in the field events, as he was fifth in the shot put (45 feet and 6-1/4 inches).
• Zane Paksi placed seventh in the pole vault, clearing the bar at a school-record mark of 13 feet and 5-1/4 inches.
• Noah Bailey scored eighth-place points in the long jump with a mark of 20 feet and 10-3/4 inches on his first attempt.

FINAL TEAM SCORES

1. Calvin 173.50, 2. Trine (Ind.) 145.0, 3. Hope 100.0, 4. Albion 79.0, 5. Adrian 65.5, 6. OLIVET 32.0, 7. Alma 24.0.

QUOTE FROM OLIVET HEAD COACH KAREN LUTZKE

"I am extremely proud of how the team competed across the board today. The leadership from our upperclassmen set the tone for us and we were able to maximize our possible scoring."