ANGOLA, IND.—The Trine men's and women's track and field teams look to start the outdoor season strong at the 2015 Vanderbilt Black & Gold Invitational this Friday and Saturday.
Coming off a successful indoor season is the Trine women's track and field team. The Thunder produced a fourth place finish at the Trine Indoor Championships, two National qualifiers, and one All-American.
Freshman thrower Kara Eck (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) set a new school record and earned All-American honors with a sixth place finish in the Weight Throw at the Indoor National Championships. Eck will focus on the Hammer Throw and Shot Put in her first outdoor season with Trine. She is a favorite to win both events at the MIAA Field Day, as well as compete for her first Outdoor National Championship appearance.
Assisting Eck in the throws are Jenn Steyer (Fenton, Mich./Lake Fenton) and Codee Colby (Michigan Center, Mich./Michigan Center). The sophomore and freshman are poised for conference success in the Weight Throw and Shot Put with Eck.
The women's group is led on the track by Trisha King (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold). King finished the indoor season with her third consecutive national appearance, finishing ninth in the 800 M Run. Her performance was one spot shy of back-to-back indoor All-American honors. The senior is a heavy favorite for another conference win and national appearance in outdoor.
Trine will get assistance on the track from Courtney Forsythe (West Mansfield, Ohio/Benjamin Logan) and Kelsey Ortiz (Swanton, Ohio/Anthony Wayne) in distance events, while Grace Connolly (Sheridan, Ill./Serena) will vie for points in the sprints. Ashtyn Capen (Saint Louis, Mich./Saint Louis) also brings a solid pedigree from the indoor season into the outdoor season.
The 2015 Vanderbilt Black & Gold Invitational kicks off at 4 p.m. this Friday, March 27. Events conclude with the 4 x 400 M Relay on Saturday. CLICK HERE for meet information.
The outdoor schedule features six meets for the Thunder. CLICK HERE to view the complete schedule.
Article courtesy Luke Fimreite, Sports Information Student Assistant, Trine University '16