Track, field competes solidly in meet at Kent State

Last Saturday, the Carnegie Mellon’s track and field teams participated in the Kent State University Tune-Up meet. Despite tough competition from Division I, II, and III schools, both the men’s and women’s teams had a solid performance in preparation for this weekend’s University Athletic Association championships.
The men’s team did particularly well in the distance events. First-years Nate Bussiere (2:34:38) and Dan Addis (2:36.54) led the team in the 1000-meter run with second- and sixth-place finishes. Sophomore Dan Burrows (2:37.25) and first-year Justin Kurp (2:40.94) followed with eighth- and 14th-place finishes.
In the 5000-meter run, junior Brian Harvey finished second with a dominating time of 14:43.94. Junior Breck Fresen and sophomore Dario Donatelli took seventh and ninth with times of 15:07.29 and 15:10.45, respectively. Senior Drew Miller finished eighth in the one-mile run with a time of 4:17.35.
“The race I am most excited about at the championships is the distance medley relay, where, thanks to a couple guys making huge improvement over the last few weeks, we have a shot at not only winning the race and setting a school record, but also qualifying for nationals,” Harvey said.
Senior Scott Fortune took 11th overall in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:56.01. First-year Casey Piper (36.48) placed eighth in the 300-meter dash, and sophomore Chris Bogie (40.43) took sixth in the 300-meter hurdles.
In the jumps, first-year Essien Ohues continued to excel, finishing seventh in the high jump (1.93 meters) and 11th in the triple jump (12.31 meters). Fellow first-year Pat O’Brien also did well, finishing 11th in the high jump (1.83 meters) and 10th in the triple jump (13.06 meters).
Senior Eric Tang placed sixth in the triple jump and 13th in the long jump with 13.06 meters and 6.13 meters, respectively. Sophomore Chris Bridgman took 15th in the high jump with 4.40 meters. Senior Michael Reggie finished 18th in the weight throw with 14.58 meters.
“I feel like Kent was a good pre-meet for the UAA championships. The team is prepared for the championship,” said junior Joel Palko. “Our strength, like always, is our ability to score athletes in every event.”
For the women’s team, first-year Danielle Fisher put up good numbers, finishing ninth in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 50.30. Sophomore Roxana Viray took 16th with a time of 53.80. In the 300-meter dash, first-year Heather Dolan took 17th with a time of 47.80.
Sophomore Diane Matting and first-year Courtney Baker placed 12th and 21st in the 400-meter dash with times of 59.63 and 1:01.34, respectively. In the 800-meter run, senior Ashley Baklemun (2:26.15) led the team with a 15th-place finish. Senior Shauna Ormon (2:28.80) and sophomore Crystal LeePow (2:29.58) took 22nd and 24th, respectively.
First-year Laura McKee finished 22nd with a time of 5:27.90 in the one-mile run. In the pole vaults, sophomore Anna Lenhart took 18th-place with 2.60 meters. First-year Melissa Hwang (4.90 meters) and junior Sami Simmons (4.53 meters) finished 10th and 17th respectively, in the long jump.
Next weekend, the track and field teams will travel to Case Western Reserve University for the much-anticipated UAA championships.