Behind strong performances from the entire roster, the Case Western Reserve University track and field teams earned a pair of top-two team finishes at the two-day Fighting Scots Invitational hosted by the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio.
The Spartan men's team tied for first place with the University of Mount Union at 174 points, while the women's team finished second with 187 points, behind Mount Union's 215 points. Case Western Reserve won eight events at the invitational.
Junior distance runner Jack Begley claimed one of the team's first-place finishes, winning the 5000-meter run with a stadium record time of 14:48.49. The previous stadium record was 15:09.95, set by Spartan Club Hall of Famer Aaron Johnston-Peck in 2004. Begley's time is the seventh fastest in program history.
Three Spartans finished in the top-five of the 800-meter run, led by a top-finish from senior mid-distance runner Logan Singer, who crossed the finish line first in 1:53.57. Singer's time is the fourth fastest in program history. Junior mid-distance runner Will Dehmler placed third in the event, finishing in 1:56.45, while first-year distance runner Nate Gilbert finished fifth in 1:59.54.
Gilbert, junior mid-distance runner Joe Jaster, and first-year distance runner Hans Holst took three of the top-four spots in the 1500-meter run. Jaster won the event in 3:55.69, Gilbert finished third in 4:00.81, and Holst took fourth in 4:08.32.
The podium for the 400-meter hurdles was also filled with Spartans, as four CWRU runners finished in the top five, led by sophomore sprinter/jumper Yusuf Shaaban who placed first 56.78 seconds. Junior sprinter/hurdler Eli Fragnoli finished third with a time of 59.36 seconds, junior hurdler Putu Randy Radiarta finished fourth with a time of 1:00.69, and first-year distance runner Luke Kishna rounded out the top five with a time of 1:03.67.
The 4x400-meter relay, consisting of Singer, Dehmler, junior mid-distance runner Liam O'Reilly, and first-year distance runner Victor Nash, grabbed a top finish for Case Western Reserve with a time of 3:37.61. Individually, O'Reilly, won the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:51.69.
Sophomore sprinter Brett Callow and first-year sprinter Nicolas Lende each claimed a second and fourth-place finish. Callow was the runner-up in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.99 seconds and placed fourth in the 100-meter dash in 11.25 seconds. Lende took fourth in the 200-meter dash in 23.41 seconds and placed second in the 400-meter dash in 50.94 seconds. Junior sprinter/jumper Keith Cartwright finished between Callow and Lende in the 200-meter dash, placing third in 23.19 seconds.
Junior hurdler Peculiar Nzegbuna took third in the 110-meter hurdles in 15.84 seconds.
In the field, senior thrower Ben Brisman placed second in the hammer throw with a mark of 45.85 meters, and first-year pole vaulter Quaylen Lamarre finished fifth in the pole vault with a mark of 4.12 meters.
Sophomore thrower Adrienne Wachtman had a career day, earning three top-three finishes for the CWRU women's team at the invitational. She won the javelin throw with a mark of 38.48 meters, the fourth-farthest throw in program history, placed second in the discus with a mark of 37.43 meters, the seventh farthest ever by a Spartan, and finished third in the shot put with a mark of 10.81 meters.
The final win for Case Western Reserve was in the 400-meter hurdles, with junior hurdler Mia Kilroy placing first in 1:06.17, the eighth-fastest time in program history.
The Spartans placed second, third, and fourth in the 5000-meter run. Senior mid-distance runner Jana Fisher crossed the finish line first of the group in 17:54.82, the eighth-fastest time ever by a Spartan, senior distance runner Susanna Henry followed with a time of 18:25.33, and junior distance runner Catherine Phillips finished in fourth place in 18:44.21.
Sophomore distance runner Jessica Kwasny had a pair of top-four finishes in the 800-meter run and the 200-meter dash. She took second in the longer race with a time of 2:17.58, the fifth fastest in program history, and placed fourth in the sprint with a time of 28.35 seconds. Sophomore sprinter/jumper Anna Zinsser bested Kwasny in the 200-meter dash, finishing third in 27.15 seconds, while junior mid-distance runner Melissa Phung placed fifth in the 800-meter run in 2:23.35.
Each of the Spartan relays placed second. The 4x100-meter relay of Zinsser, sophomore sprinter/jumper Emily Hopkins, sophomore sprinter Elise Moore, and first-year hurdler/jumper Sarah Ozeki finished in 51.52 seconds, while the 4x400-meter relay of Kwasny, Phung, sophomore distance runner Grace Jackson, and graduate student distance runner Anna Mollnhuber crossed the finish line in 4:21.36.
Individually, Ozeki placed second in the triple jump with a mark of 10.98 meters with Hopkins close behind at 10.71 meters. Jackson finished third in the 1500-meter run in 4:49.53, Moore placed fourth in the 400-meter dash in 1:01.32, and Zinsser took fifth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.08 seconds. Graduate student distance runner Molly Gniady was the second person to cross the finish line in the 3000-meter steeplechase, earning second place in 12:52.41.
In the field, junior jumper Mia Vargo had the fifth-best high jump in program history, placing second with a mark of 1.59 meters. Junior thrower Tori Cohen rounded out the second-place finishes with a mark of 35.39 meters in the hammer throw. Taking fourth were first-year jumper Lauren Roskuszka in the javelin throw (26.27 meters) and junior pole vaulter Shelby Cooper in the pole vault (3.06 meters). Finishing behind Cooper in the pole vault was junior pole vaulter Victoria Zhao¸ who also recorded a mark of 3.06 meters.
The track and field teams will next travel to Oberlin, Ohio for the Bob Kahn Invitational hosted by Oberlin College from Friday, April 8 to Saturday, April 9.
