The Case Western Reserve University men's and women's track and field teams opened the 2023 portion of their indoor schedule on Saturday with the SPIRE Midwest Open at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.
The Spartan men's team earned eight finishes in the top eight at the competitive meet. Participating in his first action as a Spartan, first-year hurdler/sprinter Josh Bates placed fifth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.58 seconds, the 30th-fastest time in Division III so far this season. Bates added an eighth place finish in the 200-meter dash in 22.35 seconds and was a member of the 4x400-meter relay, along with fellow first-year sprinter Aaron Brula, senior runner Will Dehmler, and junior sprinter/jumper Yusuf Shaaban that finished seventh in 3:25.75.
First-year vaulter Anthony DeCarlo matched Bates with the best finish by a member of the CWRU men's team, placing fifth in the pole vault after clearing 4.15 meters. In the 60-meter dash, graduate student sprinter Juan Perez placed seventh with a finals mark of 7.00 seconds, besting his time of 7.03 seconds in the prelims. In a similar fashion, senior hurdler Peculiar Nzegbuna improved upon his 8.84 second time in the 60-meter hurdles prelims by finishing the final sprint in 8.81 seconds, placing eighth in the event.
In horizontal jumping events, sophomore jumper Andrew Qi took seventh in the triple jump with a leap of 12.83 meters, and first-year sprinter Troy Olson placed eighth in the long jump with a mark of 6.25 meters.
The Case Western Reserve women's team also recorded eight marks in the top eight, led by a first place finish from junior hurdler/jumper Emily Hopkins in the triple jump with a mark of 11.00 meters. First-year jumper Layla Seaton placed third in the event with a leap of 10.91 meters. Adding a fifth place finish was senior vaulter Victoria Zhao, who cleared 3.20 meters in the pole vault. Fellow senior vaulter Shelby Cooper tied for seventh in the event with a mark of 3.05 meters.
A pair of Spartans, senior jumper Mia Vargo and junior thrower Adrienne Wachtman, earned sixth place finishes in their events. Vargo recorded a mark of 1.55 meters in the high jump to place sixth, and Wachtman heaved the shot put 11.42 meters for her sixth place finish.
The 4x400-meter relay of first-year runner Melanie Taylor, junior runner Grace Jackson, and senior runners Chloe Relf and Melissa Phung-Rojas placed sixth in the event with a time of 4:16.64. Jackson added an individual eighth place finish in the mile run, crossing the line at 5:12.06.
The Spartans will head to Berea, Ohio next Saturday for the Dr. Taraschke Team Challenge, hosted by Baldwin Wallace University. Action is slated to begin at 10 a.m.
