For the third straight year Goshen College can say it has the fastest walker in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. From March 5 to 7, the Goshen College men’s and women’s track teams competed in Johnson City, Tenn. for the N.A.I.A. Indoor Track and Field National Championships, setting three school records and six personal best times.
Tina Peters, a junior, won her third consecutive 3,000 meter race walk national championship at the N.A.I.A. indoor competition. Peters’ time of 14:58.96 was better than her last year’s winning time, 15:22.42, and was a comfortable 23 seconds better than the rest of the competition.Peters’ win also helped the women’s team place 16th in a field of nearly 80 schools. This is the fourth straight year that the women’s team’s has finished in the top 20.
Tessa Horst and Laura Stoesz, both seniors, had career best performances in the race walk, finishing 7th with a time of 16:16.45 and 8th with a time of 16:31.05.
Abri Houser, a senior, broke her own Goshen College records in the pentathlon and the 60 meter hurdles. Houser finished 11th in the pentathlon with 3,157 points and 12th in the hurdles in 9.15.
Also competing on the women’s side was Deanna Kronk, a senior, who finished 15th in the weight throw, with a distance of 49′ 11″ and 18th in the shot put distancing 40′ 10 ½”. Peni Acayo, a sophomore, placed 19th in the the triple jump distancing 35’1″. Laura Harnish, a senior, finished 27th in the 3000 meter run in 10:54.22.
On the men’s side, two Goshen College athletes reached event finals and narrowly missed All-American honors. Samuel Chege, a senior, finished seventh and broke his own Goshen College record in the 800 meters in 1:54.40. David Rumsey, a senior, ran a personal best in the mile for the fifth consecutive meet and finished ninth with a time of 4:20.16.
The men’s and women’s track teams will open their outdoor seasons at the Dick Small Invite in Defiance, Ohio on March 21.
