(Grand Rapids, MI) After Friday's meet was postponed to snow, Cardinals Track & Field traveled to Grand Rapids, MI to compete in the Saints Challenge hosted by Aquinas College. The men's team took 5th place overall while the women's placed 6th in a competitive field including Aquinas, Siena Heights, Madonna, and Indiana Tech.
Notable performance included:
Senior Eric Bugg (Ida, MI) led the men's throws squad, placing 7th in the shot put with a toss of 13.20m, and saw a 6th place finish in the men's weight throw with a heave of 13.91m, just shy of his 14.1m personal best. Fellow senior Noah Pastrana (Dayton, OH) recorded a personal best of 10.20m in the weight throw and a 9.25m in the shot put. Rounding out the men's throws squad was Sophomore Zach Belinsky (Beluah, MI), Junior Richard Branch (Detroit, MI), Freshman Josh Wood (Champagne, IL). Belinsky competed in both throwing events, tossing 10.83m in the shot put and 10.03m in the weight throw. Branch and Wood threw 10.32m and 4.76m respectively in the shot put.
On the ladies side of field events, Junior Payton Lovins (Wauseon, OH) opened the 2021 indoor track & field season in both the weight throw (7.11m) and shot put (6.06m). Teammate Hayle Flowers (Jr; Waverly, MI) competed in the 60m dash (9.17), the long jump, and shot put, throwing 8.26m just shy of her PR of 8.34m.
On the track side, Senior Mae Dulin (Detroit, MI) placed 2nd in the 400m sprint (1:12.99), 6th in the 60m dash (8.32) and competed in the 200m (29.90). Senior Alan Jones shined in his sprint events, sharing 3rd place in the 60m dash (7.18), won his heat and took 4th in the 200m finals (23.41). Freshman sprinter Ameir Wilbourn (Chicago, IL) took 5th in the 60m dash with a time of 7.24 and earned a 9th place finish in the men's 200m with a time of 24.43.
Small but mighty, distance squad was represented by Avery Sanchez (So; Allen Park, MI) and Adam Dimaggio (Jr; Irmo, SC). Dimaggio placed 6th in the men's mile with a time of 5:22.33. Teammate Sanchez saw a pair of 5th place finishes today in the men's mile (5:14.76) and 800m run (2:21.38).
The Cardinals will return to action on Friday when they will travel to Defiance, OH. The Cardinals will compete at the John Hartpence Invitational, which will be hosted by Defiance College. Follow the CUAA Track & Field (@CUAATFXC) Twitter account for live coverage and updates throughout the meet.
