The Goshen College men’s 4×800-meter relay team combined to cut 7.36 seconds off the previous school record set in 2014 as the Maple Leafs’ track teams competed in the Indiana Wesleyan University Midwest Classic this past Saturday.
Steven Cranston and Juan Perez, first-years, Luke Graber, a senior and Darius Rawlins, a sophomore, set the third school record in as many meets this season.The quartet finished in fourth place and just two seconds off the time needed to qualify for the NAIA indoor national championships.
Lindon McDonald, a first-year, set a personal best in the pole vault, surpassing six feet four and three-quarter inches to take second place in the event. The multi-talented McDonald once again nearly broke his own school record in the 60-meter dash. Finishing first in his heat and 13th overall, McDonald now owns the four fastest times in school history.
Abe Medellin, a sophomore, and Ryan Haggerty, a first-year, pieced together personal bests in the 600 and the mile respectively. Medellin crossed the line in 16th place and Haggerty in 18th.
Ryan Smith, a senior, also had a strong performance in the mile with a third place finishing time of 4:28.77.
The 60-meter dash on the women’s side resulted in two personal bests for Caitlyn Hughey, a junior, and Lisette Bermudez, a senior. Hughey once again ran well in the 200-meter dash as she came within 0.08 seconds of her week-old school record.
A pair of fifth-place finishes from Chelsea Foster and Nora Rangel, first-years, as well as a top 10 performance by Jill Steinmetz, a junior, also highlighted the day for the Leafs.
Rangel paced the 600 meters in 1:47.47, while Foster legged the 3,000-meter haul in nearly 11 minutes flat. Steinmetz earned a ninth place finish in the 800 meters with a time of 2:35.27.
Goshen will travel to Taylor University this Saturday to compete in the Trojan Invitational, with the first event scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m.
