Despite a school record time of 14:35.48 in the 5000-meter run from junior Jack Begley, the Case Western Reserve University track and field teams fell to University Athletic Association rival Carnegie Mellon University at the 13th Annual Battle for the Obelisk at the Veale Center in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday.
In the unique scoring format, the scores from the men's and women's results are tallied together to determine an overall winner. Carnegie Mellon won the meet 172-100. The Spartan men's team contributed 51 points, and the Spartan women's team added 49 points.
In addition to Begley, four members of the Spartan men's team secured first place finishes. Senior Juan Perez took first place in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.08 seconds and third place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 52.74 seconds. In the one-mile run, senior Logan Singer took first in 4:22.67, while in the 60-meter hurdles junior Peculiar Nzegbuna finished first in 8.71 seconds. Sophomore Yusuf Shaaban finished first in the high jump with a mark of 1.90 meters.
Junior Keith Cartwright had a pair of second place finishes, taking second in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.12 seconds and second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.48 seconds.
Three other CWRU men finished second in events, with first-year Kunal Chand taking second in the pole vault with a mark of 3.95 meters, junior Joe Jaster recording a second place finish in the 3000-meter run in 8:49.20, and junior Parker Straight finishing second in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:57.85.
Senior Ben Brisman (weight throw, 14.42 meters), junior Kenny Suen (triple jump, 12.18 meters), sophomore Jack Wragan (pole vault, 3.80 meters), junior Pierce Boucher (60-meter hurdles, 9.00 seconds), and senior Bryden Moxley (800-meter run, 1:59.15) each secured third place finishes.
The distance medley relay team of Singer, Jaster, first-year Nate Gilbert, and junior Will Dehmler won the event in a time of 10:31.63.
The Case Western Reserve women's team had a strong finish in the 800-meter run, taking the top two spots in the event. Sophomore Jessica Kwasny finished first in 2:21.69 and junior Melissa Phung finished second in 2:26.91.
The CWRU women's team took the second and third podium spots in six events: the high jump, pole vault, 60-meter dash, one-mile run, 3000-meter run, and 5000-meter run. In the pole vault, junior Shelby Cooper placed second with a score of 3.05 meters in one attempt and junior Victoria Zhao finished third with a score of 3.05 meters in one attempt. At the high jump, junior Mia Vargo was in second place with a jump of 1.60 meters, while junior Mia Kilroy took third with a mark of 1.50 meters.
First-year Jordan Su and sophomore Anna Zinsser placed second and third in the 60-meter dash, with Su finishing in 8.30 seconds and Zinsser finishing in 8.32 seconds. Zinsser also took second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.09 seconds, while Su took third in the long jump with a distance of 4.74 meters. In the one-mile run, sophomore Grace Jackson was in second place with a time of 5:15.66 and graduate student Molly Gniady was third in 5:41.40. Junior Cecelia Zielke and senior Jana Fisher took second and third in the 3000-meter run, with Zielke finishing in 10:20.72 and Fisher in 10:43.55. Seniors Susanna Henry and Julia Kocherzat placed second and third in the 5000-meter run with times of 18:44.17 and 18:56.30.
Three Spartans picked up second place finishes in other events. Junior Tori Cohen finished second in the weight throw with a mark of 12.75 meters. First-year Sarah Ozeki was second in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.67 seconds, and sophomore Elise Moore was the second finisher in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:02.64.
The Spartans travel to Berea, Ohio on Friday, February 11 for the Mid-February Meet hosted by Baldwin Wallace University. The following day, the teams head to the campus of Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio for the Indoor All-Ohio Championship.
