The Slippery Rock University men’s outdoor track and field team sent athletes to two meets this past weekend, the Jack Toms Alumni Invitational at the University of Lynchburg, and the Carnegie Mellon Invitational at Carnegie Mellon University.
Most of The Rock’s distance runners, limited sprinters and field athletes were sent to Carnegie Mellon, while the majority of the sprinters, hurdlers and field event athletes traveled to Lynchburg.
Jack Toms Invite
During the two-day event Friday and Saturday, the White and Green recorded 17 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) qualifying marks, three National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) provisional marks and came one shy of 30 top 10 finishes.
Grady Cobb and Zach Gose each took home first-place wins in their events. Cobb, with a height of 1.95 meters, took first in the high jump and earned himself a PSAC mark. Gose threw for 58.10 meters in the hammer throw and claimed an NCAA mark.
Three other throwers placed in the top 10 for the hammer throw. Ryan Oleksy took third to claim a PSAC mark. Evan Hall (sixth) and Logan Parker (10th) rounded out the Rock athletes for that event.
Senior Kadin Johnson led the way for both relay teams. In the 4-by-100-meter relay, Johnson, Benny Whitaker, Nicholas Hartwick and Matthew Crow finished with a time of 41.88 to take second place. Also, placing second in the 4-by-400-meter relay were Johnson, Austin Kurta, Trey Huha and Micha Good.
Johnson also placed third in the 400-meter relay, crossing the finish line in 49.14 to earn himself a qualifying mark. Two other Rock athletes also placed in the top 10, with Good in sixth and Huha in eighth.
Kurta and Crow went home with PSAC marks as well. Kurta took seventh in the 400-meter hurdles, and Crow placed second in the 110-meter hurdles.
Another high-scoring event for Slippery Rock was the shot put, with five Rock athletes placing in the top 10, four of them earning marks. Seaton Wozniak placed second with an NCAA provisional with a throw of 17.11 meters. Conor Brown (fourth), Logan Parker (sixth) and Hall (seventh) each walked away with a PSAC mark.
Whitaker, Christian Crowley and Jason Alderson were the only White and Green athletes to place in their respective events. Crowley in pole vault and Alderson in triple jump placed third to earn marks, adding to The Rock’s total.
CMU Invite
A limited squad from SRU’s track and field team was sent to CMU for another two-day invite that wrapped up Saturday evening. The Rock walked away with two PSAC qualifying marks.
The marks were both earned in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. John Juszynski took seventh place with a time of 9:30.28, and Michael Gauntner placed 16th, finishing in the same minute.
Three Rock athletes placed fourth in their respective events: Cullen Birkes in the pole vault, Dustin Joyce in the long jump and Chad Hepler in the hammer throw.
Jacob Thompson placed in two events, both in the top 10. He placed ninth in the 200-meter dash and 10th in the 400-meter dash.
The Slippery Rock men’s track and field team now turns their focus to their first home meet of the outdoor season on April 3 and 4 at William C. Lennox Track.
