The men’s and women’s track teams produced three individual champions, three new school records and four national qualifying performances at the Little State Championships in Marion, Ind. on Saturday.
Competing in a deep field, the women’s team had a strong performance. “The Maple Leaf women’s team put themselves with the state’s elite teams,” said Coach Rick Clark, “by finishing fifth out of the field of 18 schools.”Katie Sowers, a senior, led the charge in the field events, winning the javelin at 132′ 9″ and breaking the 130′ mark for the first time in Goshen College history. Peni Acayo, a sophomore, dominated the competition in the triple jump with a winning jump of 36′ 11 3/4″ that broke her previous school record by over a foot.
Deanna Kronk, a senior, also had a stellar meet, hitting national qualifying marks in three throwing events. Kronk placed second in the shot put (42′ 7 1/2″), third in the discus (134′ 10″) and fifth in the hammer throw (156′ 2″).
On the track, Abri Houser and Laura Harnish, both seniors, had excellent meets for the Maple Leafs. Houser won the 100-meter hurdles in 15.08 and placed third in the 400 meter hurdles at 1:07.19. Harnish placed third in the 1500 meters, finishing with a personal best of 4:46.80.
The men’s team placed 15th out of 19 schools. Samuel Chege, a senior, nearly won the 800 meters run but was overtaken in the last 20 meters. Still, Chege finished second in 1:56.23, which broke the college’s oldest track record, beating Lynn Smith’s 800 meters time of 1:56.24 from 1968 by one hundredth of a second.
David Rumsey, a senior, also ran an outstanding 1500 meters, placing seventh with a personal best time of 4:03.21. In the 400 meter hurdles Jon Miller, a sophomore, and Tyler Keller, a junior, placed seventh and eighth with times of 56.67 and 57.19, respectively.
