(Rochester Hills, MI) Cardinals track and field took to the track April 8-9, 2022 for the Golden Grizzlies Invite hosted by Oakland University. The NCAA division I meet featured top programs across all NCAA and NAIA divisions.
Personal best attempts were seen on both the track and in the field at the high profile meet. Junior Andrew Wiemer (Meridian, ID) set the stage for the track, racing to personal best in both the 200m and 400m races. Wiemer crossed the line in 25.88 in the 200m and 55.33 in the 400m. Running with Wiemer in 200m was Noah Starkey (Sophomore; Macomb, MI) and Kash Warren (Lorain, OH). Starkey ran in a time of 24.11 and Warren crossed the line in a time of 23.88. Warren also went on to run the 100m dashm with a best time of 11.40. Freshmen Jeremiah Salas (Decatur, MI) and Maurice Kado (Beachwood, OH) also ran in the 100m dash, with Salas running 11.60 and Kado running 12.21.
On the distance side, Theodore Eising (Royal Oak, MI) ran a personal best in the 1,500 race, running 4:36.22. Luke Bentz (Fort Wayne, IN) joined Eising in the 1,500m, running 4:30.53. The duo also raced in the 800m race together, with Eising running 2:15.15, and Bentz running 2:13.82. Concordia saw further depth in the 800m run, with Michael Brannan (Dearborn, MI), Noah Finley (Freshman; Monroe, MI) and Adam Dahl (Junior; Owosso, MI). The trio finished the two-lap race in 2:14.71, 2:38.29, and 2:38.42, respectively. Finley went on to run the 1,500m race with Bentz and Eising, running 5:38.57. Racing in the 3,000m steeplechase was Avery Sanchez (Junior; Allen Park, MI). Sanchez crossed the line in a time of 11:26.71.
On the field, Senior Richard Branch (Detroit, MI) took 6th place in the javelin throw with a toss of 41.75m and competed in the shot put, throwing 12.09m in finals. Junior Zachary Belinsky (Beulah, MI) saw a personal best in the hammer throw, tossing 36.39m. Belinsky also competed in the discus throw and shot put, throwing 31.18m and 11.87m, respectively. Also seeing a personal best in the throws events was Joshua Wood (Champagne, IL). Wood threw a new personal record of 23.20m in the discus throw and saw a near best with a toss of 20.6m in the hammer throw. Fellow throwers Jordan Ponce (Freshman; Milan, MO) and Ethan Szabados (Junior; Brownstown, MI) joined Wood in the discus throw. Ponce saw a personal best with a toss of 26.38m and Szabados threw 21.45m with the discus. Ponce also competed in the shot put, tossing 9.94m. ToRohn Yancey (Freshman; Detroit, MI) competed in the hammer throw, throwing 25.08m and tossing 11.03m in the shot put. Fellow freshman Scott Smith (Saginaw, MI) threw 30.46m in the javelin throw, 11.09m in the shot put and ran 12.12 in the 100m dash. Rounding out the field events was senior Zachary Yoder (Mt. Pleasant, MI) who competed in the javelin throwing, heaving 26.32m, and cleared 1.75m in the high jump.
Full results for the meet can be found here.
Cardinals Track & Field competes again on Thursday, April 14 at the Don Kleinow Invitational hosted by Seina Heights University in Adrian, MI. Keep up to date with the Cardinals by following the team on social media - cuaaxctf.
