The Lawrence men’s and women’s track and field teams traveled to Carroll University this past Sunday to open their seasons after a week’s delay. Both teams had been scheduled to compete the previous Saturday at the Private College Championships, but the event was canceled due to weather. In much more favorable weather conditions, the men’s and women’s teams were each able to finish in a respectable 5th place overall, setting the stage for a productive outdoor season.
Several members of the team put in admirable and key performances on the day to score important points for the Vikings. On the women’s side, fifth-year Alex Chand placed 6th in the 400 meters, while cross country standouts Cristyn Oliver and Lilia Bodnar placed 3rd and 4th, respectively, in the 800 meters. Distance standouts Edythmae Frodl and Riley Winebrenner placed in the top four in the 5k, and thrower Grace Fox won the javelin. For the men, Bill Daniels ran an impressive time in the 1500 meters, Owen West cracked the top 10 in the 5k, David Benjamin came second in the long jump, and throwers Ian Thomas and Zach Burke took second and third in the javelin throw.
The first big takeaway from this weekend’s competition is the women’s track team proving their abilities against very skilled competition. Hosts Carroll University as well as Carthage College regularly produce national championship competitors, and this is without mentioning the presence of Northwestern, a Power-5 NCAA Division 1 school who brought competitors to this meet. Despite this, as well as some curious race selections for Lawrence runners, they stood up to the challenge, backing up their 3rd place overall finish in the Midwest Conference during the indoor track season. Furthermore, Frodl and Winebrenner’s placings in the 5k reflect the LU Women’s cross-country dominance from the fall as well, suggesting Coach Jason Fast is building a sustainably quality squad. The Viking’s top distance competitor, Cristyn Oliver, also did impressively well despite running no longer than the 800 meters, placing 3rd and setting a PR in the process despite being a distance specialist. Taking into account the consistency of Bodnar’s 4th place finish, the Viking women are clearly continuing to build a very solid team. Other performers who didn’t score reflect this trend. Madeline Taylor and Jaicey Stanich just barely missed out on the top 10 in the 800 meters, and Mollie Davis placed 9th in the 1500 meters , while Aasma Haider rounded out the top 10 in the 5k. This squad is also very young: Oliver, Frodl, Winebrenner and Stanich are freshmen, while Bodnar is only a sophomore, and Madeline Taylor, is a junior. Only Chand as a fifth-year is an outlier. I am very excited to see how this team progresses, especially when competitors are allowed to run their preferred races.
The men’s track team is a curious case in comparison to the women’s team. Both groups won their respective cross-country divisions in the fall, but the women seem to be having the better fortunes on the track. This is not to slag off the performances of the athletes; it is very likely the placings being poorer are simply due to stiffer competition, with almost all of the men’s races having a higher number of registered competitors. The men are still running very impressive times as well. Four separate athletes ran under 5 minutes in the 1500 meters in the form of the Billy Daniels, Ray Wetzel-Meehan, Itai Bojdak-Yates and Zach Casper, with Julian Garcia coming in just over at 5:04. Also worth noting is that first-year standout Collin Beyer is currently recovering from an injury; he would typically score very significant points in distance events like the 5k, or perhaps the 1500 meters.
Meanwhile, men’s throwers scored very well even given their overall low experience. Javelin conference champion from 2021, Zach Burke, came within 6 meters of his PR with a 46.96 meter throw, despite very adverse wind conditions. First-year Ian Thomas, who has only picked up a javelin for the first time this year, managed second on the day ahead of Burke by setting a new PR of 48.45 meters, which is, quite frankly, ridiculous. Ian also threw 12.24 meters in the shot put, good enough to place 9th in the face of competition from national championships-quality competitors from both Carthage and Carroll. Burke also placed in the top 10, with his throw of 11.07 meters off only a quarter turn (a less than ideal technique) good enough for 10th. Both men contributed significant points and look poised to take on a major role in the men’s team’s success this spring.
On a final note, sophomore Grace Fox ought to receive a shoutout for winning the javelin event overall on the women’s side. Grace threw 32.34 meters, which brought her the win and maximum points for the women’s team. The competition was incredibly steep, with 2nd place coming in at 32.30 meters, and 3rd close behind as well at 32.16 meters. This means the gap from 1st to 3rd was a mere 8 centimeters. Even so, take nothing away from Grace as she was LU’s only event winner of the day.
Grace Fox Goes Off
On a final note, sophomore Grace Fox ought to receive a shoutout for winning the javelin event overall on the women’s side. Grace threw 32.34 meters, which brought her the win and maximum points for the women’s team. The competition was incredibly steep, with 2nd place coming in at 32.30 meters, and 3rd close behind as well at 32.16 meters. This means the gap from 1st to 3rd was a mere 8 centimeters. Even so, take nothing away from Grace as she was LU’s only event winner of the day.