Both the women’s and men’s track teams had strong showings at the Anderson Invite on Saturday, finishing second and third respectively.

For the women’s team, Deanna Kronk, a senior, won both the shot put (42′ 4 1/2″) and the discus (130′ 5″). Kronk finished second in the hammer throw with a toss of 121′ 9″. Her winning mark in the shot put qualified her for nationals.

Katie Sowers, a senior, dominated the competition in the javelin with a 123′ 0″ throw. Despite struggling with her approach in the triple jump, Peni Acayo, a sophomore, won the triple jump with a 35′ 7 1/2″ mark.

On the track, Laura Harnish, a senior, won the 1500-meter race in 4:54.05, while Abri Houser, a senior, was not challenged in the 100-meter hurdles, as she finished in 15.33.

For the men’s team, David Rumsey, a senior, posted personal bests in both the 1,500 meters and the 800 meters. Rumsey finished third in the 1,500 meters (4:10.39) and fourth in the 800 meters (2:00.68). He then showed his versatility by winning the javelin with a 151′ 4″ throw.

Samuel Chege, a senior, fell just short in the 1,500 meters, finishing second in 4:09.33. Ben Bouwman, a junior, ran a career best 15:43.90 to win the 5,000 meters.  Jon Miller, a sophomore, placed second in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 57.40.

While most of the women’s team was in Anderson, several Goshen College race walkers competed in the Jack Hazen Invite at Malone College. Tina Peters, a junior, won the 3 kilometer race walk in 15:20.53.  Peters finished over a minute ahead of Tessa Horst, a senior, who placed second for Goshen College in 16:24.82.

On the men’s side, David Horst, a first-year, finished seventh in the race walk in 29:55.48.

“Although we had a number of personal bests, there are still many places where work is needed to be where we would like to be by the conference meet,” said Maple Leafs Coach Rick Clark.

The Mid-Central College Conference Championships are on April 24 and 25.

The men’s and women’s teams will next participate in the Little State Championships in Marion on Saturday.