The Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams opened up their seasons on Friday, competing at the Titan First Chance Meet in Bloomington.
Although neither team filled up the stat sheets as far as winning events, the team displayed solid depth. Regardless of outcome, the focus of the meet was to get athletes, specifically freshmen, the experience of competing at the college level.
Track and Field’s schedule is purposely set up to have one competition before Millikin’s long winter break. The next time the team will compete together as a unit will be on January 17th at Eastern Illinois University.
Assistant Track and Field Coach Carrol Whitehouse realizes that the experience that the team has gained from this meet is much more valuable than individual performances.
“It was great to get everybody out here with a chance to compete,” Whitehouse said. “They’ve been working hard since September. So, this first meet is an opportunity to have some fun.”
Creating a family atmosphere has always been the goal of Track and Field’s staff, especially because the roster is so huge. Ensuring that each athlete feels like a part of that family is the number one priority of the first meet of any track season, largely due to how long the season is. These athletes have already been training for several months, and some will be competing after school is out for the summer, depending on how far they advance in the postseason.
Seeing the family come together was exactly what Whitehouse wanted to see.
“I saw a lot of smiles, and a lot of people just doing a great job being a part of something new,” he said. “That was kind of the whole goal.”
The Women’s team did have two individual winners, with freshman Julia Schrock winning the 800-Meter Run in a time of 2:33.19. Additionally, freshman Alexa Weter won the Pole Vault with a height of 3.12 meters.
“Every now and then, people come out and surprise you and pop a big number,” Whitehouse said. “We saw lots of good scoring and a lot of good efforts today.”
In the Women’s High Jump, senior Hannah Sago and Junior Audrey Remole would lead the charge for the Big Blue, with Sago earning a third-place finish while Remole would finish sixth. Freshman Taylor Beiler would take seventh in the event.
In the Women’s Long Jump, Zena Roberts would take second place with a jump of 5.30 meters.
The Women’s Pole Vault Team would have a great day, with four finishers in the top six. Three of these athletes are freshmen, meaning there is great depth in those positions.
Freshman Ella Neihls would lead the way in the Triple Jump, finishing fifth with a jump of 4.84 meters.
On the Men’s side, Millikin did not win an event, but showed great depth.
Senior Emmett Emmons had a successful day in his return to the track, with a fourth-place 200-Meter Dash finish, finishing in 23.26 seconds. Freshman Connor Smith would finish seventh, with a time of 23.33 seconds. Smith would continue his success in the 400-Meter Dash, finishing fifth with a time of 52.29 seconds. He would be joined by freshman Jaiden Walkin, who would finish sixth with a time of 52.63 seconds.
Senior Julio Hernandez Lopez finished third in the 3,000-Meter Run with a time of 9:08.42. Hernandez Lopez ran a hard-fought race, but was not able to secure the victory for the Big Blue. Seniors Matt Gowen and Quartus Rassi would take the next two spots, finishing fourth and fifth.
In the Men’s High Jump, the Big Blue had three freshman finishers in top six spots, with Jack Webb finishing second at 1.90 meters, Cam’Ron Holcomb finishing fourth at 1.85 meters, and Dylan Ragsdale finishing sixth at 1.80 meters. Whitehouse was particularly excited about these freshman finishes.
“We had some good high jumps today,” he said. “We had a great battle today with Cam and Jack. They both surprised me. I knew how good they were, but I didn’t think we were quite ready to jump as well as they did today.”
In the Men’s Pole Vault, freshman Tyler Hensley, brother of former Millikin NCAA National Champion Kyle Hensley, finished fourth in Pole Vault with a height of 3.81 meters.
In the Shot Put, sophomore Robbie Vavrik threw a personal best of 13.54 meters, a near half-meter personal record. As for the Weight Throw, the Big Blue had three personal records thrown, coming from junior Hunter Danberry, senior Joey Huizenga, and sophomore Spencer Wall.
The First Chance Meet was a great growing experience for this Millikin team. The Big Blue will reconvene on January 17th at Eastern Illinois University, competing in the John Craft Invite.
“I think we’re trying to build something special,” Whitehouse said. “We’ve got good things coming.”
