The Case Western Reserve University indoor men's track and field team completed a historic season during the 2022-23 campaign with the distance medley relay of seniors Logan Singer and Joe Jaster, sophomore Nate Gilbert, and first-year Josh Bates earning the first-ever relay All-America honors in program history. In addition, members of the team set five school records, tallied seven All-Region honors, and earned nine All-University Athletic Association honors, including two UAA titles.
The distance medley relay placed seventh at the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships in Alabama, finishing the race in a school record time of 9:51.02. Singer got the Spartans off to a strong start with a split of 3:00.38 in the 1,200-meter leg, good for fifth place at the handoff. Bates followed with a split of 49.02 in the 400-meter portion of the race, handing the baton to Gilbert in second place. Gilbert followed with a 1:55.33 split in the 800-meter leg to keep the team in sixth, and a 4:06.04 in the 1,600-meter anchor leg by Jaster secured the All-America honor for CWRU.
By virtue of placing seventh in the event, the relay earned two points for the Spartans in the team standings, marking the first time since 2012 that CWRU has scored at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Bates added a school record in the 500-meter dash earlier in the season at the YSU Mid-Major Invitational, placing third with a time of 1:05.62 to best the previous record of 1:06.68 set by Andrew Ibibo in 2016. Graduate student sprinter Juan Perez set two school records as an individual and one as a member of a relay during the campaign. He set a new program best in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.53 seconds at the Dr. Taraschke Team Challenge and tied the school record in the 60-meter dash at the All-Ohio Indoor Championships with a time of 6.96 seconds. Perez, senior sprinter/jumper Keith Cartwright, junior sprinter Brett Callow, and sophomore sprinter Nicolas Lende broke the program record in the 4x200-meter relay at the same meet, placing third with a time of 1:30.08.
In addition to the distance medley relay, Jaster (3,000-meter run), senior runner Jack Begley (5,000-meter run), and sophomore vaulter Quaylen Lamarre (pole vault) earned All-Great Lakes Region Honors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association with top five in-region marks.
At the UAA Indoor Championships, held on the campus of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, Jaster and Perez each captured UAA titles to lead the team to a fifth place finish. Jaster set a UAA Championship Meet record with a time of 8:18.74 in the 3,000-meter run to win the conference title besting the previous record of 8:21.99, run by WashU's Andrew Padgett at the 2014 conference championship, to become the first-ever 3,000-meter UAA Champion in Case Western Reserve history. Perez claimed the first-ever CWRU UAA title in the 60-meter dash, winning the race in 6.97 seconds by crossing the line 0.01 seconds sooner than Chicago's Myles Xavier to claim the UAA Championship.
The distance medley relay placed second at the meet to earn Bates, Jaster, Singer, and Gilbert All-UAA honors. Lamarre was the runner-up in the pole vault to earn his first career all-conference honors, and Begley (5,000-meter run) and senior hurdler/jumper Yusuf Shaaban (high jump) added third place finishes to run out the CWRU All-UAA honorees.
Academically, three members of the track and field team—Begley, Gilbert, and Singer—earned Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Communicators, with Jaster and senior runner Robert St. Clair earning CSC Academic All-District recognition. 27 members of the CWRU men's track and field team received UAA All-Academic honors.
Members of the CWRU men's track and field team received the following individual honors during the 2022-23 Indoor Track and Field Season:
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UAA Athlete of the Week
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Juan Perez
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January 30 (Track)
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The following were top times/marks by Spartan track and field athletes during the indoor 2022-23 season:
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55-Meter Dash
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Juan Perez
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6.53 *SR
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Dr. Taraschke Team Challenge
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60-Meter Dash
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Juan Perez
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6.96 *SR
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All-Ohio Indoor Championships
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200-Meter Dash
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Josh Bates
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22.35
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SPIRE Midwest Open
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400-Meter Dash
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Josh Bates
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49.58
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SPIRE Midwest Open
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500-Meter Dash
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Josh Bates
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1:05.62 *SR
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YSU Mid-Major Invite
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800-Meter Run
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Hans Holst
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1:55.67
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Dr. Taraschke Team Challenge
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1,000-Meter Run
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Nate Gilbert
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2:38.01
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Ed Finnigan Greater Cleveland Colleges Invite
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Mile
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Logan Singer
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4:14.19
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YSU Mid-Major Invite
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3,000-Meter Run
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Joe Jaster
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8:18.74
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UAA Indoor Championships
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5,000-Meter Run
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Jack Begley
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14:29.76
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GVSU Big Meet Friday
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55-Meter Hurdles
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Bryce Hodge
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8.04
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Dr. Taraschke Team Challenge
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60-Meter Hurdles
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Bryce Hodge
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8.48
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Polar Bear Final Qualifier
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4x200-Meter Relay
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Keith Cartwright, Brett Callow, Nicolas Lende, Juan Perez
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1:30.08 *SR
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All-Ohio Indoor Championships
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4x400-Meter Relay
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Juan Perez, Will Dehmler, Nicolas Lende, Josh Bates
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3:26.80
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UAA Indoor Championships
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Distance Medley
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Logan Singer, Josh Bates, Nate Gilbert, Joe Jaster
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9:51.02 *SR
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NCAA Indoor Championships
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High Jump
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Yusuf Shaaban
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1.95m
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Ed Finnigan Greater Cleveland Colleges Invite
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Pole Vault
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Quaylen Lamarre
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4.64m
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UAA Indoor Championships
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Long Jump
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Troy Olson
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6.55m
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Battle for the Obelisk
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Triple Jump
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Andrew Qi
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13.22m
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Ed Finnigan Greater Cleveland Colleges Invite
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Shot Put
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Ben Pinkowski
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11.95m
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Spartan Holiday Classic
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Weight Throw
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JD Weaver
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11.03m
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Battle for the Obelisk
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*SR – indicates school record