SYDNEY LORENTZ
STAFF WRITER
The Franciscan University of Steubenville men’s and women’s track and field teams hit the ground running at the Homon Invitational on April 6 at the University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio.
Both teams are anxious to see their success propel them into the last half of their season, especially looking ahead to early May.
On the women’s side, freshman Alison Bryant came in third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:50.20. Junior Kristine Stickney and sophomore Beth Flanagan came in seventh and eighth places with times of 12:53.74 and 12:59.73, respectively.
Freshman Elizabeth Atkins came in second in her heat of the 1,500-meter run with a personal best of 5:08.70. Classmate Ashlin LaFond placed first in her heat of the 2,200-meter dash with a time of 28.43. Sophomore Sydni Cain ran a 34-second personal record in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 21:57.71.
On the men’s side, sophomore Liam Galligan placed first in the 1,500-meter run with a personal record of 3:53.48. Close behind were junior Mark Borek and senior Nick Long in seventh and 10th places, crossing the line in 4:02.35 and 4:05.37. Sophomore Austen Duggan came in sixth in the 800-meter run with a season time of 1:58.06.
In the 5,000-meter run, senior Grady Stuckman came in 12th place overall in a time of 16:06.26. Freshman Mike Sobus was the next Baron to cross the line in 24th place, finishing in 17:41.48. Sophomore Easton Syvertson placed seventh in his heat of the 400-meter dash with a time of 55.27.
The running Barons will be back in action on Saturday, April 13, at the All-Ohio Outdoor Track and Field Championships held at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. Though this is overall a young team across the board, both the men’s and women’s teams have already demonstrated the importance of teamwork and perseverance and have already tasted much success in the first half of the season.