Case Western Reserve University junior Jack Begley set a new program record in the 3,000-meter run, headline a slate of impressive performances for the Spartans in their first meet of 2022, the Otterbein Invitational on Saturday in Westerville, Ohio.
Begley crossed the finish line in a time of 8:30.57 to place sixth in the race and surpass former Spartan Sam Merriman's previous school-record time of 8:33.13, set during the 2018 campaign. Begley's time is the fourth-fastest among University Athletic Association competitors this season.
CWRU athletes tallied first-place finishes in six events at Saturday's meet. Two of the first-place finishes came from senior Juan Perez, who won both the 60-meter dash in a time of 7.01 seconds and the 200-meter dash in a time of 23.29 seconds. Perez's 60-meter dash time was the fastest this season in the UAA, and the second-fastest mark in program history. Also winning events for the CWRU men were senior Logan Singer, who placed first in the 800-meter dash with a time of 1:58.85, and sophomore Yusuf Shaaban, who won the high jump with a height of 1.89 meters, the fourth-best among UAA competitors this season.
Recording first-place finishes for the Spartan women were senior Julia Kocherzat, who won the 5,000-meter run with a time of 19:07.39, and sophomore Jessica Kwasny, who won the 800-meter run with a time of 2:23.02. Sophomore Grace Jackson was second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:25.51.
Additional second-place finishes came from the CWRU men in the 400-meter dash, where first-year Nicolas Lende notched a time of 52.69 seconds, the pole vault, where sophomore Jack Wragan cleared the bar at a height of 4.00 meters, and the 4x400-meter relay, where Shaaban, Singer, junior Ben Pinkowski and senior Bryden Moxley tallied a mark of 3:38.20.
Pinkowski also placed third in the triple jump (12.81m) and was the team's top finisher in the long jump, finishing fifth with a leap of 6.27 meters. Junior Peculiar Nzegbuna and junior Liam O'Reilly each added third-place finishes, the former in the 60-meter hurdles (8.87 in the preliminaries) and the latter in the 5,000-meter run (16:41.73). Other top finishers for the Spartan men on Saturday were first-year Nate Gilbert in the mile run (sixth, 4:27.81) and senior Ben Brisman in the weight throw (fifth, 13.76m).
Adding third-place finishes for the CWRU women were sophomore Elise Moore in the 400-meter run (1:02.83), sophomore Emily Hopkins in the triple jump (10.57m), junior Mia Vargo in the high jump (1.59m), junior Victoria Zhao in the pole vault (3.00m) and the Spartans' 4x400-meter relay team of Moore, junior Mia Kilroy, sophomore Anna Zinsser and junior Melissa Phung. Junior Tori Cohen was CWRU's top finisher in both throwing events, finishing seventh in the weight throw (12.72m) and 15th in the shot put (9.09m). Other top finishers for the CWRU women on Saturday included first-year Sarah Ozeki in the 60-meter hurdles (fourth, 9.92), first-year Medha Patria in the mile run (ninth, 5:40.44), Zinsser in the 200-meter run (fourth, 27.70), senior Susanna Henry in the 3,000-meter run (12th, 10:56.91), and first-year Jordan Su in the long jump (eighth, 4.55m).
The Spartans will be back in action on Saturday, January 29, making the trip across town to Berea, Ohio to compete in the Dr. Taraschke Team Challenge, hosted by Baldwin Wallace University.
