Bearcats Claim Eleventh at Pioneer Invitational
The Brescia men's track team kicked off their outdoor season with an 11th place finish (out of 18 teams) at the Pioneer Invitational at Transylvania University on March 23rd.
Men's team captain Jaleel Parris (SR, Lovejoy, GA) said, "Everyone went out and tried their hardest in their individuals events." Parris continued to say, "I've never been so excited after a season opener.There are always things to work on, but we definitely opened up the outdoor season the best we could."
The meet started at 8:30 a.m. with hammer throw. Andrew Parker (FR, Louisville, Ky.) was the highest placing Bearcat, throwing a distance of 31.09m. Matthew Shazier (FR, Walton, Ky.) was next (27.36m), followed by Zac Johnson (JR, Leitchfield, Ky.) and James Vanmeter (FR, Lebanon Junction, Ky.), who threw 21.51m and 16.58m, respectively.
Parker's distance (31.09m) established a new school record in hammer throw.
Next, Landon Holt (JR, Dawson Springs, Ky.) leaped 1.73m in high jump, which placed him 12th. Parker competed, but did not clear the opening height.
At the same time as high jump, Parris jumped 5.87m in long jump, placing him 11th.
The first event on the track for the Bearcats was the 4x100m relay, which featured Holt, Parris, Jacob Stanley (SR, Owensboro, Ky.) and Elochukwu Nwodo (FR, Missouri CIty, Tx.) finishing in eighth place and scoring one point with a time of 46.22 seconds.
Directly after the 4x100m, Parker (10.03m), Johnson (9.39m), Shazier (9.32m), and Vanmeter (8.19m) competed in shot put. Parker led the Bearcats with a 22nd place finish. Parker broke Johnson's previous school record of 9.94m.
After a brief pause in the action for the Bearcats, Wesley competed in the 110m hurdles, finishing in 11th place at 17.81 seconds. Wesley's time broke the school record, which was previously Brent Crawford's time of 18.50 seconds.
After the hurdles, Stanley and Holt ran the 400m dash. Stanley the one lap race in 57.47 seconds.
Holt ran a blazing time of 49.16 seconds in the 400m, setting a new meet record and smashing his previous school record of 49.41, and scoring ten points for Brescia.
Next, Elochukwu Nwodo (FR, Missouri City, TX) and Vanmeter ran in the first heat of the 100m dash, sprinting the distance in 12.31 seconds and 12.56 seconds, respectively. A few moments later, Parris ran the same race in 11.56 seconds, placing 15th.
In the first distance event of the day for the Bearcats, Devin Roche (SO, Auburn, Ky.) ran the 800m in 2:12.96.
In the final hurdle event of the day, Wesley ran the 400m hurdles in 1:03.75, placing 10th.
Following the hurdles, Parris sprinted the 200m dash in 23.75 seconds. Right after Parris' race, Holt finished third in the meet with a 22.42 second 200, breaking his former school record (22.74) and scoring eight points for the team.
In the last distance race of the meet, Kyle Robinson (SR, Henderson, Ky.) ran a new personal best of 16:28.87 in the 5k and scored four points for the Bearcats.
While Robinson raced the 5k, Shazier (34.34m), Parker (30.03m), Johnson (27.03m) and Vanmeter (18.87m) threw discus. Shazier led the squad with a 22nd place finish and broke the school record.
The meet concluded with the 4x400m relay. Brescia's team of Holt, Parris, Wesley, and Stanley placed 12th at 3:35.72.
Head Coach Luke Stoffel said, "I am pleased with how each team started the season. It was the best season opener for outdoor track and field in the past five seasons."
"Seeing so many school records fall for only first meet makes me so happy that Brescia's track program is becoming better and better each year," said Parris.
Next week will be an unorthodox weekend for Brescia. "The Bearcats will be spread out this upcoming weekend," said Stoffel, "Kyle Robinson will head to Carmel, Indiana to compete in the half marathon."
The Bearcats (minus Robinson) will be back in action on March 30th at the Centre College Invitational in Danville, Kentucky.
Editor