On Saturday, January 30, the Saint Xavier men and women’s track teams competed in the Mike Lints Alumni Open at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. The day had mixed results with our women faring better than our men.
In the men’s 60 meter dash, sophomore Keith Kyonn would finish in 22nd place out of 62 runners. Kyonn would post a time of 7.26 in the race.
In the women’s 5000 meter run, two runners would place for the Cougars as juniors Nicole Maier and Courtney Correa would place in 17th and 20th respectively. Maier would finish with a time of 19:39.97, while Correa would finish with a time of 20:42.84.
In the men’s 5000 meter run, another two Cougars would place in an event as senior Victor Solis would place in 39th, while freshman Ivan Diaz would place five spots behind him at 44th. Solis would finish with a time of 17:04.34, while Diaz would finish with a time of 18:01.93.
In the women’s mile run, freshman Jess Wittmayer would make an impact for the Cougars, placing in 24th place with a time of 5:44.94, while in the men’s mile run, junior Ray Alexander would also get the job done, placing in 34th place with a time of 4:41.08.
In the women’s 400 meter run, junior Rachel Koronkiewicz would place in 32nd place with a time of 1:09.51, while in the male counterpart of this race, junior Al Bernal would place in 41st with a time of 56.98.
In the women’s 800 meter run, junior Nicole Watkins would finish with the best finish of the day so far for the Cougars, placing in 15th with a time of 2:21.50. Also, freshman Deandra Stokes would keep the good times rolling, placing in 31st with a time of 2:28.71.
To follow up one great performance with another, the men’s 800 meter run was highlighted by the performance of junior Rexford Wiafe, as he would finish in 6th place with a time of 1:55.64. Also, freshman Chase Fisher would make an impact for the Cougars, placing in 53rd with a time of 2:10.90.
In the women’s 200 meter run, Koronkiewicz would place once again, this time in 57th place with a time of 29.78. In the men’s 200 meter run, the Cougars would once again have a great run as three Cougars would place in the race.
Leading the pack was Kyonn who would place in 7th in this race with a time of 22.59. To follow, Bernal would place in this race as well, finishing in 57th with a time of 24.43 and freshman Ben Tracy would finish in 64th place with a time of 25.17.
In the women’s 3000 meter run, the Cougars would be well represented by sophomore Ellie Willging and freshman Miranda Tiffany as they would finish in 6th and 43rd respectively. Willging would finish with a time of 10:16.67, while Tiffany would finish with a time of 12:16.04. In the men’s 3000 meter run, the Cougars would have another two runners place in the race.
Junior Abel Hernandez would finish in 21st with a time of 8:50.67, while freshman Alan Guzman would place in 45th with a time of 9:14.57. The Cougars would have had three runners in this race, but senior Janis Pastars would end up being scratched from the race.
In the men’s weight throw, sophomore Josh Wallick would place in 34th with a distance of 10.49m. In the women’s long jump, freshman Alex Lambros would represent the Cougars well, placing in 20th with a distance of 4.79m. Lambros would also impress in the women’s triple jump event, finishing in 7th place with a a distance of 10.43m.
With the mixed results, the Cougars will look to improve upon this meet when the women compete in the Olivet Nazarene University Invite at 10 AM on Saturday, February 6.
John Romando
Senior Sports Editor