The Case Western Reserve University men's and women's track and field teams competed at the two-day CMU Invitational hosted by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh on Friday and Saturday, with the Spartan women's team placing third with 76.50 points and the men's team taking fifth with 51.0 points.
Among the women's track and field teams, Division I Duquesne won the meet with 106 points with host Carnegie Mellon placing second with 96 points. The Tartan men's team totaled the most points, 200.50.
Two members of the CWRU women's team won events at the meet. In the pole vault, senior vaulter Victoria Zhao cleared 3.25 meters, to claim first place. Also on the podium was senior vaulter Shelby Cooper, who placed third with a mark of 3.10 meters. Senior runner Melissa Phung-Rojas crossed the line first in the 3,000-meter run, finishing the race in 10:48.34.
Phung-Rojas added a fourth place finish in the 800-meter run in 2:18.78, with junior runner Grace Jackson placing sixth with a time of 2:19.80. Jackson placed in the top eight in two additional events, one as an individual and one in a relay. She earned fifth place in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:50.48, finishing just ahead of first-year runner Lauren Iagnemma, who took sixth in 4:51.41. Jackson joined first-year sprinter Hannah Driscoll, junior runner Jessica Kwasny, and first-year runner Melanie Taylor for the 4x400-meter relay, with the Spartans placing sixth in 4:21.96.
Junior thrower Adrienne Wachtman earned a trio of top eight finishes in field events for Case Western Reserve. She was the runner-up in the javelin throw, recording a mark of 37.67 meters, placed third in the discus throw with a heave of 38.27 meters, and tied for sixth in the shot put by recording a mark of 11.83 meters. Other CWRU throwers earning points were sophomore jumper Lauren Roskuszka, who placed fourth in the javelin throw with a mark of 35.72 meters, and junior thrower Ailean Duffie, who placed seventh in the hammer throw with a mark of 42.63 meters.
The Spartans recorded a pair of sixth place finishes in jumping events. Junior hurdler/jumper Emily Hopkins bounded 10.58 meters to place sixth in the triple jump, and senior jumper Mia Vargo cleared 1.51 meters in the high jump to take sixth place. Senior runner Danielle Sarno (seventh, 400-meter dash) and first-year hurdler/jumper Grace Misiunas (eighth, 100-meter hurdles) rounded out the point earners for the CWRU women's track and field team.
A pair of graduate students each earned the top finish at the meet for the Spartan men's track and field team. Sprinter Juan Perez placed third in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.613 seconds, and runner Anthony Hart took third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:28.47. Senior runner Liam O'Reilly also placed in the steeplechase, taking seventh with a time of 9:54.10. Perez added a fourth place finish as a member of the 4x400-meter relay in 3:32.81, along with first-year sprinter Aaron Brula, junior sprinter/jumper Yusuf Shaaban, and first-year hurdler/sprinter Josh Bates.
Junior sprinter Brett Callow earned a pair of top seven finishes, taking fourth in the 200-meter dash in 22.74 seconds and seventh in the 100-meter dash in 11.247 seconds.
A pair of Spartans placed in the top eight in both the long jump and the 110-meter hurdles. In the field, sophomore jumper Andrew Qi took fourth with a mark of 6.16 meters and first-year jumper/thrower Connor Evans placed eighth with a leap of 5.92 meters. On the track, first-year hurdler/sprinter Bryce Hodge placed fifth in 15.36 seconds and senior hurdler Peculiar Nzegbuna placed seventh in 15.72 seconds.
Sophomore runner Hans Holst, senior jumper Kenny Suen, and senior sprinter/hurdler Pierce Boucher each added a sixth place finish for CWRU. Holst was sixth to cross the line in the 800-meter run at 1:55.95, Suen recorded the sixth-best mark in the triple jump of 12.71 meters, and Boucher placed sixth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 57.56 seconds. Senior thrower Ben Pinkowski (seventh, hammer throw) and sophomore jumper Joshua Berman (seventh, pole vault) rounded out the top eight finishers for the team.
Next weekend, the Spartans will travel to Oberlin, Ohio, for the Oberlin College Spring Opener on Friday, March 31 and Saturday, April 1.
