By Peter Baugher
Staff Writer
The Franciscan University men’s and women’s track teams set multiple records on Saturday, January 28, at their first meet of the year at Youngstown State College.
In the men’s race, senior Ryan Ozymy broke the Franciscan record for the 400-meter indoor race with a time of 50.04, breaking senior David Cappello’s record of 50.79. Sophomore Joseph Rhode also broke Cappello’s record, finishing with a time of 50.66. Cappello himself broke another record, finishing with a time of 1:56.57 in the 800-meter indoor race, breaking the previous record held by senior Miguel Daez, set last year.
The men’s 4×400 relay team, which was anchored by Alexander Blose and consisted of John Sicree, Aidan Flannery, and Dwayne Gethard, placed 17th in a field of 29 teams with a time of 3:35.98
John Sicree also set a university record, placing 24th out of 44 runners in the 60m hurdles with a time of 9.15 seconds.
Nicholas Brass broke a throwing record, throwing 12.22 meters in the shot put to take the farthest indoor shot put throw.
Joseph Rhode set university records in four straight events, including breaking his own record in the 200m and placing first out of all PAC runners.
On the women’s side, Claire Walters finished 5th in the 3000-meter run with a time of 10:38.33, the fastest of all Division III runners in the field.
In the mile, Rachel Hurly placed 37th and Jessica Campbell placed 59th out of 75 runners. In the 400m race, Freshman Clara Symington placed fourth in the PAC in a field of 75 runners, followed by Rebecca Bolster in 50th, Victoria Unnerstall in 64th, and Alana Bradford in 68th.
Symington also ran the 200-meter dash, placing 67th out of 107 runners with a time of 28.20.
Next week, the Barons head to Ashland University to compete in the Jud Logan Light Giver Open meet, in which they will compete against talented runners in Division I and Division II schools throughout the region.