On Friday, February 6, the Wayne State College track and field team hosted its last indoor meet.
The Wildcats women’s team did not compete as planned in the 60-meter, 200-meter, or 400-meter races, with no WSC athletes placing top 8 in any event. In the 600-meter run, sophomore Zoey Holmes took third place with a run of 1:37.84, and sophomore Kaitlyn Bloomenrader placed fifth with a time of 1:40.36
In the 800-meter run, WSC had two competitors, and both athletes placed. Kyla Krusemark placed first with a time of 2:20.23 as a freshman. Sophomore Meghan Cunningham placed fifth, finishing with a personal record of 2:22.61.
“My goal was to get out with the top group and try to kick at the end and hopefully win it. I wasn’t expecting to pace it most of the way like I did, but I kept my composure and controlled what I can control throughout the race,” Krusemark said. “I give lots of credit to my own teammates Callie and Meghan who push me each day to reach my full potential.”
Moving on into the long-distance events, the Wildcats had one athlete place in the 1000-meter race. Junior Callie Kirchner placed first with a personal record of 3:03.52. Both senior Sydney Escritt and sophomore Allie Czapla placed within the 3000-meter race. Escritt got fourth with a personal record of 10:46.55, and Czapla placed seventh with a time of 11:10.00.
The women’s track team didn’t compete in the 5000-meter run at the Wildcat Invite, but Madeline Kunz, a senior long-distance runner, explained why she enjoys running the 5000-meter race and how she prepares herself for competition.
“I enjoy running it because it’s long enough that you can settle into a good pace and relax a bit,” Kunz said. “My pre-meet ritual is to listen to music and read. I like to relax and just stay calm.”
Jumping on into the hurdles, WSC had two athletes who competed in the 60-meter hurdles. Sophomore Reagan Murphy placed first with a time of 8.86 seconds. Freshman Breylee Botts placed fourth with a time of 9.12 seconds.
The women’s track team had two 4×400-meter relay teams with the first team consisting of Carly Busch, Zoey Holmes, Kaitlyn Bloomenrader, and Reagan Murphy placing second with a personal record of 3:57.49. The second team consisted of Kyla Krusemark, Alyssa Folds, Alaina Nelson, and JoLie Farr, who placed fifth with a personal record of 4:07.18.
Sophomore Jalecia Williams placed first in shot put with a personal record of 44-7. Olivia Schwarzrock, a senior wildcat, placed sixth with a throw of 42-8 ¼ and Sophomore McKinley Grover placed eighth with a personal record of 40- 3 ¼.
The Wildcats had two women high jumpers who competed, with one of those athletes, junior Jerika Bakenhus, placing third with a jump of 5-1 ¾.
Both junior Kailee Kellum and freshman Ava Leinen placed in the long jump. Kellum got first with a personal record of 18-2 ½ and Leinen got second with a jump of 17 8 ¾. Kellum was also the only WSC women’s triple jumper to compete at the Wildcat Invite. Kellum got seventh with a personal record of 34-11 ¾.
The women’s weight throwing team had an outstanding day with three athletes placing in the top eight. Schwarzrock got second with a throw of 55-11 ¾, while both Williams and Sophomore Taylor Arp threw personal records. Williams got sixth with a throw of 54-6 ½ and Arp threw 52-10 ¼ to place eighth.
The men’s track team started off strong with freshman Tragon Timm placing fifth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.06 seconds.
The 200-meter athletes kept the pace rolling with senior Alex Leuenberger taking home fourth place with a time of 22.33 seconds and junior Osman Saeed getting a personal best of 22.48 seconds to take sixth place.
The WSC men’s track team did not compete as planned in the 600-meter race and had no athletes competing in the 400-meter and 800-meter long-sprint events.
Gannon Walsh, a sophomore Wildcat, placed eighth in the 1000-meter race with a personal record of 2:39.54.
The men’s track team had two athletes, sophomore William Keller and Junior Brady Franzen, who competed in the 3000-meter race; both athletes placed in the top eight. Keller came in third with a personal record of 8:51.92, and Franzen came in seventh with a personal record of 9:05.51.
Sophomore Mujeeb Adewuyi took first place and was the only WSC men’s athlete to make it to the finals for the 60-meter hurdles with a run of 8.31 seconds.
“Competing at home always means more, and being able to perform well in front of teammates and supporters was very rewarding,” Adewuyi said. “It gave me confidence and showed that the work I’ve been putting in is paying off after coming back from injury, which wasn’t easy, back-to-back hamstring pull thrice last year.”
The WSC men’s 4×400 relay team placed fifth with a run of 3:28.84. The team consisted of Henry Hushka, George Hinke, Joe Dewald, and Ethan Walters.
Junior Elliot Nottlemann jumped a season record of 6-5 ½ to place third in high jump, followed by his own teammate, who tied for fourth place with a jump of 6-3 ½, freshman Bryce Faimon.
Devon Schultz, a junior wildcat, got first place in pole vault, with a vault of 14-11, while fighting to once again hold the dome record in the Wildcat Dome.
The men’s long jump team brought their jumping shoes with four WSC athletes placing within the top eight, freshman Bryce Larson placed second with a personal record of 22-10 and following behind him with a jump of 22-2 ½, Nottlemann placed second. Junior Ty Dingman placed seventh with a jump of 21-8 ¼. Jumping just short of Dingman’s mark, Faimon placed eighth with a jump of 21-7 ¼.
WSC’s weight-throwing team swept the top of the podium with Jaxson Ninete, J’Dyn Bullion, and Jake Peitz placing in the top three. Junior Ninete had a personal record of 61-1 ½, sophomore Bullion had a throw of 56-0½, and junior Peitz also had a personal record of 54-11 ¼. Seniors Alex Altman and Joshua Olesen also placed within the top eight. Altman threw a distance of 52-9 ¼ and placed fifth, while Olesen threw 49-11 ¼ and placed eighth.
The Wildcat Track and Field team will be on the road again on Friday, February 13 for the South Dakota State University Indoor Classic.
