Members of the Case Western Reserve University track and field teams set three school records while competing at last chance meets on Friday and Saturday. The program record in the men's 4x100-meter relay fell for the second time this season at the Harrison Dillard Twilight in Berea, Ohio, and the record times in the men's 1,500-meter run and women's 800-meter run were lowered at the St. Francis Fighting Chance Invite in Joliet, Illinois, on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
The 4x100-meter relay of senior sprinter/jumper Keith Cartwright, junior sprinter Brett Callow, first-year hurdler/sprinter Josh Bates, and graduate student sprinter Juan Perez bested their own record of 41.58 seconds set earlier this season with a time of 41.35 seconds on Friday night. The Spartan quartet placed fifth overall in the event and finished third among Division III relays.
Senior runner Logan Singer improved upon his own school record in the 1,500-meter run, completing the race in 3:48.10 in Illinois on Friday. Last season at the same meet, Singer crossed the line at 3:48.64 to set the school record. He placed seventh in the event and fourth among Division III runners, and his time currently ranks 20th in the country. Singer also competed in the 800-meter run, placing eighth with a time of 1:54.06.
On Saturday in the 800-meter run, senior runner Melissa Phung-Rojas lowered her own school record in the event with a time of 2:14.64. Her previous record, set earlier this season, was 2:15.30. Phung-Rojas placed seventh overall in the event and fourth among Division III competition,
In Berea, junior sprinter Brett Callow placed seventh overall in the 200-meter dash and third among Division III runners with a time of 21.85 seconds, the second-fastest mark in school history. Bates added an eighth place finish in the 400-meter hurdles in 54.48 seconds, and he, Perez, junior sprinter/jumper Yusuf Shaaban, and senior sprinter/hurdler Pierce Boucher placed eighth in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:20.02.
Senior runner Julia Kocherzat won the 5,000-meter run for the CWRU women's track and field team, finishing the distance event in 17:54.34. Junior thrower Adrienne Wachtman added a pair of top-eight finishes in the field, placing fifth in the discus throw with a mark of 38.75 meters and seventh in the javelin throw with a mark of 37.05 meters. In both events, she was the second-best performer among Division III student-athletes.
First-year runner Lauren Iagnemma and junior runner Grace Jackson turned in impressive times in the 1,500-meter run, ranking third and fourth in program history with marks of 4:41.50 and 4:41.70, respectively. Iagnemma placed 18th overall and eighth among Division III runners with Jackson taking 20th place.
Senior runner Joe Jaster, graduate student runner Anthony Hart, and sophomore runner Aidan Nathan each placed in events in Illinois. Jaster was the runner-up in the invite portion of the 5,000-meter run, placing second with a time of 14:16.36, which would rank 23rd this season among Division III runners. Nathan followed Jaster in the event, placing ninth overall and seventh among Division III runners with a time of 14:48.64. Hart turned in the fastest time for a Spartan in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in nearly 10 years, finishing the event in 9:20.39 to place ninth overall and seventh with Division III competition.
Members of the CWRU track and field teams will have one final opportunity to post qualifying times for the 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the Mount Union Last Chance Meet on Thursday, May 18. Student-athletes with the top 22 times and marks this season in individual events and relays with the top 16 times receive invitations to the national championship, which runs from May 25-27 in Rochester, New York.
