Goshen College women’s and men’s indoor track and field teams competed in the Crossroads League Championships this past Friday and Saturday. The women’s team tied for seventh and the men’s team placed ninth, with numerous records and standards set along the way.
“I felt energized and excited about the weekend,” said Rustin Nyce, head coach for the teams. “Each athlete stepped up with a season best, lifetime best, school record, and/or a national standard.”The women’s 4 x 800-meter relay, composed of Annika Alderfer Fisher, Naomi Ross Richer, Mia Wellington and Summer Cooper started Friday’s meet off strong, setting a school record and qualifying for NAIA national championships with a time of 9:34.73.
Cooper and Alderfer Fisher hit national standard times in the mile for the first time this season with times of 5:13.14 and 5:14.41, respectively.
Suzette Rodriguez yet again impressed: her toss of 16.57 meters placed her second in the women’s weight throw and earned her All-Crossroads league recognition.
Samuel Stoner-Eby also placed second in his event, the 400-meter run, on Saturday. His time of 49.32 seconds shattered his own school record by over half a second. He also finished 6th in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.6 seconds.
Maria Maldanado set a school record in the 60-meter dash on Saturday with a time of 7.96 seconds. She also placed 5th in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.44 seconds.
Other point scorers included Simon Graber-Miller in long jump and high jump, Liam Elias in the 1000-meter run, Josh Taylor in the 600-meter run, the men’s distance medley team, and both the men’s and women’s 4 x 4 teams.
Coach Nyce singled out Josh Taylor, a senior, for his contribution to the team culture. “He has been a pillar for our program to build on,” Nyce said, “and I could not have created a better person to be in that role.”
Those who qualified for Nationals will compete in South Dakota next week. The rest of the team has already begun to prepare for the outdoor season.
“The goals for outdoor are to continue pushing the limits individually and collectively,” Nyce said. “The athletes believe in their training and believe in what we are trying to accomplish. I’m sure they’ll bring their best.”
