Men’s Track & Field
Recently, the SXU men’s track team completed their indoor season at the 2014 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships.
This event took place at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.
The Cougars had three national qualifiers compete in the event. Among those athletes are seniors Brian Corcoran (Chicago, IL/Brother Rice) and Shane Kenney (Chesterton, IN/Chesterton) for the 1000-Meter Run.
The third athlete was junior transfer Janis Pastars (Ogre, Latvia/Cameron University) to compete in the Mile Run.
Corcoran finished his event 17th overall with a time of 2:32.62.
Kenney finished right behind Corcoran in 18th place with a time of 2:34.66.
Pastars qualified for the mile with a time of 4:17.25. He then went on to beat that time and took 9th place with an outstanding 4:13.11 time.
Coach Ed McAllister was very pleased with his three national qualifiers’ performances.
The men look to prep for their next stage of the Track & Field season, the outdoor season.
The outdoor season will open up on April 5 at the University of Chicago at the Ted Haydon Invitational.
Women’s Track & Field
The SXU Women’s track and field team has also wrapped up their indoor season recently.
Like the men, the women also competed at the 2014 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.
The highlights of the event included senior Ashley Shares (Palos Park, IL/Moraine Valley CC/Stagg) placing 19th in her event.
Shares also achieved her fastest time of the season in the 5K with a time of 18:13.56.
Also noteworthy, was the 4×800 Meter Relay Team performance of junior Leslie Rosario (Fort Myers, FL/Neosho County CC/North Fort Myers), senior Anna Galvez (Glenview, IL/Oakton CC/Maine East), senior Jordan Wallace (Frankfort, IL/Lincoln-Way North) and first-year Nicole Watkins (Bartlett, IL/Bartlett).
The relay team set a new SXU record in their event with an outstanding time of 9:33.19, which beat the previous record by a whopping grand total of 18 seconds. Well done, ladies!
The SXU Women’s Track & Field Team looks to start their outdoor season on Saturday, March 29 at the Maple Leaf Invite in Goshen, IN.
Frank Markasovic
Sports Editor