SYDNEY LORENTZ
STAFF WRITER
The Franciscan University of Steubenville track and field team was back in action at the Jessica Starks Invitational held at Capital University on Jan. 26. Both the men’s and women’s teams hit the ground running in their first meet of the semester, with record-setting events.
On the women’s side, freshman Brigid Kelly had an incredible performance in the women’s shot-put with a new school record of 28.3 feet.
Freshman Claire Dawyot made her indoor season debut, placing third in her heat for the 800-meter run in a time of 2:29, and senior Grace Galligan was third in her heat of the mile run with a time of 5:22. Close behind Galligan was freshman Elizabeth Atkins in eighth place with a time of 5:42.
Capping off the night for the Lady Barons was the 4×400-meter relay, comprised of Dawyot, Galligan, freshman Ashlin LaFond and sophomore Beth Flanagan, placing third in their heat with a time of 4:34.
On the men’s side, senior Nick Long and sophomore Mark Borek placed first and fourth in the 3,000-meter run with times of 9:01 and 9:08 respectively in a neck-and-neck race.
Junior Max Martin placed first in his respective heat of the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.36. Senior Grady Stuckman and freshman Mike Sobus both had impressive performances in the 5,000-meter run, placing 10th and 18th overall, with a 50-second personal best time for Sobus. Graduate student Carlo Fabian also placed 17th overall in the 400-meter dash with an impressive time of 54.21.
The running Barons have already seen improvement in their short season thus far. Looking ahead into the next few months, both the men’s and women’s teams will compete in a few more indoor meets before moving into the outdoor season.
Head coach Vince Oliver emphasized the goals of the team in both the athletic and spiritual arena.
“Every woman and man that competed yesterday gave efforts that produced improvements and, in some cases, personal and school records,” he said. “I continue to be humbled by their competitiveness, the support for one another and their absolute devotion to God and Savior. I might be the luckiest coach in the NCAA.”
The Barons will be back in action on Feb. 2 as they travel to the University of Mt. Union to compete in the Wuske Invitational.