Led by an All-University Athletic Association finish in the 5000-meter run from junior distance runner Jack Begley, the Case Western Reserve University track and field teams broke two school records on the first day of the 2022 UAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Veale Center in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday.
Begley finished third in the 5000-meter run in 14:25.06 to earn All-UAA honors for the first time in his career. The time broke his own school record of 14:35.48 set at the Battle for the Obelisk earlier this season on the same track. Junior mid-distance runner Joe Jaster placed sixth in the event with a time of 14:48.03.
The Spartan distance medley relay of first-year distance runner Nate Gilbert, first-year sprinter Nicolas Lende, junior mid-distance runner Parker Straight, and senior mid-distance runner Logan Singer broke the school record with a time of 10:14.79. The previous record was 10:16.74, set by former Spartans Phil Yeung, Jim Mather, Kurt Gilbert, and Chris Kelly in 2010. CWRU finished fourth in the event.
Junior sprinter/jumper Ben Pinkowski earned a pair of top-eight finishes on the first day of competition. He finished sixth in the high jump with a mark of 1.89 meters and eighth in the long jump with a mark of 6.39 meters. Sophomore sprinter/jumper Yusuf Shaaban took fifth in the high jump with a mark of 1.89 meters.
The final top-eight finish on the day for the Spartan men's team came from senior thrower Ben Brisman. He placed eighth in the weight throw with a toss of 13.92 meters.
Two members of the CWRU women's track and field team brought home top-eight finishes. Junior pole-vaulter Victoria Zhao placed seventh in the pole vault with a mark of 3.32 meters, and junior distance runner Cecelia Zielke finished sixth in the 5000-meter run with a time of 17:43.86.
The distance medley relay, consisting of sophomore distance runner Jessica Kwasny, sophomore sprinter Elise Moore, first-year distance runner Marquis Globokar, and sophomore distance runner Grace Jackson, placed sixth with a time of 12:42.56.
In preliminary heats, junior hurdler Peculiar Nzegbuna qualified for the 60-meter hurdles final with a time of 8.78 seconds, eighth best in the heats. Senior sprinter Juan Perez qualified for the final of the 60-meter dash with the second-best time in the heats, 6.98 seconds. Junior sprinter/jumper Keith Cartwright qualified for the 200-meter dash final with a time of 23.51 seconds, 12th-best in the prelims.
Kwasny qualified for the 800-meter run finals with the sixth-best time in the heats, 2:20.36. Sophomore sprinter/jumper Anna Zinsser qualified for the 200-meter dash finals with a time of 26.96 seconds, 11th-best in the prelims.
After one day of competition, the CWRU women's team is in sixth place with 8.0 points and the men's team is in fourth place with 23 points.
The two-day championships will wrap up on Sunday, with field events starting at 9:00 a.m. and track events starting at 12:00 p.m.
