Men's Track Competes at Taylor Invitational

Men's Track Competes at Taylor Invitational

UPLAND, IND.  --  The Trine University men's outdoor track and field team traveled to Upland, Ind. to compete in the unscored George Glass Invitational hosted by Taylor University in Upland, Ind.

In the running events, senior Jonathan Phillips (Royal Center, Ind./Pioneer) highlighted the afternoon with a first-place finish in the 5000-meter run with a time of 15:03.22.  Phillips was one of four Thunder competitors to participate in the race and finish in the top-10.  Junior Vilis Vuskalns (Indianapolis, Ind./Beech Grove) and sophomore Jack Beakas (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) finished back-to-back in fifth and sixth place with marks of 15:21.08 and 15:22.98.  Sophomore Levi Neuzerling (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) crossed the finish line in 10th place in a time of 15:39.05.

Neuzerling was also one of two runners to place in the top-10 in the 1500-meter run and placed sixth in the event with a time of 4:05.28.  Sophomore Derek Miller (Shipshewana, Ind./Westview) finished as runner-up after completing the race in a time of 4:03.46.

In the 100-meter dash, freshman Josh Davis (Sterling Heights, Mich./Sterling Heights) and junior Jacob Root (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg) placed ninth and 10th after clipping the tape with times of 11.21 seconds and 11.23 seconds, respectively.

Senior Jasper Bassett (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) ran in the 400-meter dash and placed 10th after posting a time of 51.11 seconds.

Senior Paul Baker (Columbus, Ind./Columbus East) competed in the 400-meter hurdles and placed sixth following a time of 1:01.18.

In addition, the men had a pair of top efforts in the relay events, including winning the 4x100-meter relay after recording a time of 42.82 seconds.  Team members included Davis, freshman Angel Sanchez (Valparaiso, Ind./Portage), senior Eric Townsend (Greenwood, Ind./Roncalli) and Root.

Trine also finished third in the 4x400-meter relay after the team of sophomores Neil O'Brien (Whiteland, Ind./Roncalli), Noah Acker (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) along with Baker and Bassett had a combined time of 3:29.20.

 

In the field events, senior Nicholas Gerber (Goshen, Ind./Goshen) won the hammer throw with a distance of 176' 0.00".  Gerber also competed in the shot put and placed seventh with a best throw of 46' 0.00".  In addition, sophomore Nicolas Kane (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) also competed in the shot put and finished in 10th place after a throw of 44' 0.00". 

Seniors Jacob Payne (LaPorte, Ind./LaPorte) and Ryan Haarer (Goshen, Ind./Northridge) placed fourth and fifth in the pole vault with both clearing the bar in a height of 13' 9.25".

Freshman Noah McClellan (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) completed the top performances in the field events with a fifth-place showing in the javelin with a distance of 142' 4.00".

Trine is scheduled to compete in the Indiana D3 Championships hosted by DePauw University next Saturday, Apr. 13 in Greencastle, Ind.  The meet is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.