GREENCASTLE, Ind. -- The Trine men's track and field team placed third in the Indiana Division III Championship, held Saturday at DePauw University.
Leading the way was Nick Gerber (Goshen, Ind. / Goshen), who scored in two events to be named the Most Valuable Field Athlete of the meet. Gerber won the hammer throw with a career-best throw of 52.31 meters (171 feet, 7 inches) to top the field by more than a meter. The performance moved him into 34th in the nation in the event. The sophomore also placed seventh in the shot put with a heave of 13.44 meters (44 feet, 1.25 inches).
Gerber paced three scorers in the hammer throw. Mitch Martin (Monroe, Mich. / Monroe) placed second with throw of 51.08 meters (167 feet, 7 inches), while Andrew Bunting (Brunswick, Ohio / Brunswick) placed fifth. Derek Scott (Niles, Mich. / Niles) placed sixth in the shot put, while David Schaaf (Kokomo, Ind. / Northwestern) added a seventh-place finish in the javelin throw.
Patrick Richardville (Leo, Ind. / Leo) led the performance in the track with a wind-aided school record performance in the 100-meter dash. He ran a time of 10.62 seconds to win the event. Richardville added a 23.36-second time to place third in the 200-meter dash. He also ran a leg of the 4-x-100-meter relay.
Mat Bollan (Pleasant Lake, Ind. / Angola) added two strong efforts in hurdle events. He ran a career-best 15.20 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles to place second and added a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles. He also ran a leg of the 4-x-400-meter relay.
Jasper Bassett (Auburn, Ind. / DeKalb) placed third in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.10 seconds. That time ranks 35th in the nation and second in the MIAA.
Adam Schaaf (Greentown, Ind. / Eastern) rounded out the top individual performances on the track with a third-place finish in the 10,000-meter run. He crossed the finish line in 33:20.55. Collin Elek (Osceola, Ind. / Penn) added a fourth-place result in the race.
Richardville, Jeffery Barnett (Fremont, Ohio / Fremont-Ross), James Washington (Michigan City, Ind. / Michgan City) and Nick Hayes (Merrillville, Ind. / Merrillville) combined to place third in the 4-x-100-meter relay. The quartet of runners finished with a time of 43.24 seconds.
Bassett, Barnett, Bollan and Jacob Leopold (Ottawa, Ohio / Ottawa-Glandorf) added a fifth-place finish in the 4-x-400-meter relay. The team ran a time of 3:31.64.
Other scorers on the track included Paul Baker's (Columbus, Ind. / Columbus East) seventh-place finish in the 800-meter dash and Robert Duke's (Greentown, Ind. / Eastern) eighth-place effort in the 5,000-meter run.
Barnett turned in another strong performance in the long jump. The sophomore placed second, leaping a distance of 7.09 meters (23 feet, 3.25 inches). The jump was just shy of the school record and is the 15th-best in the nation. Eric Townsend (Greenwood, Ind. / Roncalli) also scored in the event, placing eighth.
Ryan Haarer (Goshen, Ind. / Northridge) and Trey Waagen (Horton, Mich. / Hanover-Horton) rounded out Thunder performers who scored in field events. Haarer placed fifth as he cleared a height of 4.25 meters (13 feet, 11.25 inches), while Waagen placed sixth.
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Trine returns to action Friday and Saturday, Apr. 21-22 at Grand Valley State University's Al Owens Classic.