GRAND RAPIDS, MI- Classes were cancelled at the University of St Francis on Friday, but the USF Track teams boarded buses and braved the storm for a trip to Grand Rapids, MI. The lure of great competition and a chance to run fast times early in the season compelled the squads to travel to Grand Valley State University for the Mike Lints Invitational.
With over 1,000 athletes entered and elite level competition in nearly every race, the USF Saints were still able to stand out among the crowd with many excellent performances. By the end of the night, the Saints were able to amass 31 new personal best performances, and, confirmation pending, eight new school records. Our Saints will brave a storm and snowy roads for those results anytime!
Vince Leone was in the first heat of 1:23.8 and set a school record in the process, but it was short lived as it was then broken immediately in the second heat by Adam Yost by the smallest of margins with a time of 1:23.32. Both performances were good for Yost to finish 11th and Leone to finish 12th overall.
Sean Smith returned to racing after red-shirting cross country season. Debuting in the Mile, he led his heat from the start, dominating the rest of his field with a new school record and personal best of 4:17.32. His time, though just his first race, was good for 6th overall in the meet, and also qualified him for the NAIA Indoor Championships.
In the field events, there were several performances that stood out. Jeremy Kaplan took 8th in the Long Jump with a leap of 6.23m, and Steven Grajak finished 7th in the Triple Jump bounding 12.48m, both representing USF well in such a high caliber meet.
Josh Barry was unable to make the trip to Grand Rapids with the team, but competed in the throws at Lewis University. In the shot put , Barry was able to finish 3rd, throwing for 13.8m, but was able to win the weight throw with a new personal best and school record of 16.49m.
The track team will be back in action next week on January 27th at Carthage College for the Tadd Metzger Invitational.
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