Trine Men Second After First Day of MIAA Outdoor Championship

Trine Men Second After First Day of MIAA Outdoor Championship

HOLLAND, MICH.  --  The Trine University men's outdoor track and field team is currently second of six teams after the first day of scored events of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championship hosted by Hope College in Holland, Mich.

Through four scored events, the Thunder have totaled 38 points to sit in second place behind Calvin (Mich.) College who leads the team standings with 58 points.  Albion (Mich.) College is currently third with 28 points.

Three of the scored competitions came in the field events that included a pair of event winners for Trine in seniors Nicholas Gerber (Goshen, Ind./Goshen) and Jeffery Barnett (Fremont, Ohio/Ross).  

Gerber repeated as the MIAA Outdoor Champion with a winning mark of 183' 6.00".  Also finishing in the top-eight in the hammer was sophomore Nicolas Kane (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) who placed fifth overall after recording a distance of 145' 10.00".

Gerber also went on to earn team points in the shot put by finishing seventh overall with a toss of 43' 9.75".

Barnett became a three-time outdoor event champion in the long jump (2017-19) after a best effort of 24' 0.25".  His mark was a MIAA Outdoor Championship record and surpassed Josh Meckes of Calvin who had a leap of 23' 9.50" back in 2006.  Not only was his mark a conference record, but also a Trine record which Barnett currently owned at 23' 10.00" which he set in May of 2017.  

The lone running event final that was held on day one was the 10,000-meter run that saw three Trine runners finish in the top-eight with sophomore Jack Beakas (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) leading the way by placing third in the event with a time of 32:25.00.  Senior Jonathan Phillips (Royal Center, Ind./Pioneer) and sophomore Derek Miller (Shipshewana, Ind./Westview) also earned points for the team with Phillips finishing fifth and Miller seventh.  Phillips posted a mark of 32:47.71 and Miller crossed the finish line in a mark of 32:59.89.

The two-day MIAA Outdoor Championships conclude tomorrow (Friday, May 3) at Hope College in Holland, Mich.  The first events are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

[First Day Results]