ANGOLA, Ind. -- The Trine men's track and field team will look to defend its MIAA Indoor Track and Field title at this Saturday's Indoor Championship at Calvin College.
The team's title defense will include performances from five individual school record-holders. Three Thunder performers appear in the national rankings and Trine competitors own the top mark in the MIAA in five events. The Thunder won the inaugural MIAA Indoor Track and Field Championship last year, with the title-clinching win coming in the final event of the day.
Jeffery Barnett (Fremont, Ohio / Fremont-Ross) enters Saturday's meet ranked No. 1 in the nation in the long jump. His school-record jump of 7.61 meters (24 feet, 11.75 inches) is the sixth-best in NCAA Division III indoor history. He leads the conference by nearly a meter. Barnett is also tied for second in the MIAA in the 60-meter dash.
Trine holds the top four shot put performances in the MIAA so far this season. Derek Scott (Niles, Mich. / Niles) owns the best performance, while Nick Gerber (Goshen, Ind. / Goshen), Skyler Dunckley (Cedar, Mich. / Traverse City West) and Zach DeMeester (Coldwater, Mich. / Coldwater) round out the top four.
Andrew Bunting (Brunswick, Ohio / Brunswick) will lead Thunder weight throwers. Bunting is first in the conference and 40th in the nation in the event. Mitch Martin (Monroe, Mich. / Monroe), Gerber and Chris Carver (Angola, Ind. / Sand Creek) are also ranked in the top eight in the MIAA and are contenders to earn points in the weight throw.
Trine pole vaulters also own three of the top five performances in the MIAA this season. Ryan Haarer (Goshen, Ind. / Northridge) and Jacob Payne (LaPorte, Ind. / LaPorte) hold the top two performances, while Trey Waagen (Horton, Mich. / Hanover-Horton) is fifth.
Patrick Richardville (Leo, Ind. / Leo) leads Thunder performers on the track with the top-ranked 60-meter dash time in the MIAA. The junior is the school record-holder in the event. Barnett, Devan Emerson (Elkhart, Ind. / Jimtown), James Washington (Michigan City, Ind. / Michigan City) and John Harris-Scott (Wesley Chapel, Fla. / Wiregrass Ranch) could also contend for placement among the top eight.
Richardville is also ranked second in the MIAA in the 200-meter dash and makes up a leg of the defending 4-x-400-meter relay conference champions. Jasper Bassett (Auburn, Ind. / DeKalb) also makes up a leg of the relay and is ranked 40th in the nation in the 400-meter dash. His time of 50.08 seconds is third in the conference.
Jacob Leopold (Ottawa, Ohio / Ottawa-Glandorf) and Nicholas Zak (Saint John, Ind. / Hanover Central) lead Trine's efforts in mid-distance events. Leopold is holds the program record in the 800-meter dash. Zak set the school-record in the Mile at last year's championship and is the defending conference champion in the event.
Mat Bollan (Pleasant Lake, Ind. / Angola) set a school record in the 60-meter hurdles earlier this year. His time ranks third in the MIAA.
Jonathan Phillips (Royal Center, Ind. / Pioneer) figures to be a key in Trine's distance efforts. The sophomore owns the team's best efforts in the Mile and 3,000-meter events this year. Adam Schaaf (Greentown, Ind. / Eastern) set a school record in the 5,000-meter run earlier this year and is looking to follow up an All-MIAA campaign from the cross country season.
CLICK HERE for information on the MIAA Indoor Track and Field Championship.