Grace Track: Records Falling For Lancers
DEFIANCE, Ohio – Three school records were broken and a new NAIA qualifier highlighted Grace’s track and field performance at the Defiance Invitational on Saturday.
Jacob Brown became the second Lancer to reach the NAIA qualifying standard this season. He heaved the weight throw 53-feet-4.25 to win the event. He joins Isaac Stuckey who also reached the NAIA mark in the weight throw last week.
The men’s team placed second out of 11 teams, and the women were fourth out of nine.
Grace’s three school records came from Hannah Treadway, Martin Schiele and Macallister Seitz.
Treadway bettered her own school record in the weight throw, winning the event with a toss of 49-8.25. Seitz also beat his own record in the shot put with a mark of 45-11.75 while also finishing fourth in the weight throw.
Schiele made history in his first collegiate race. He became the fastest 60-meter runner in school history when he crossed the finish line in 7.13 seconds, just two weeks after being cleared medically to participate.
“Our throwers continue to put together impressive performances. On top of Jacob’s qualifying mark and the new records, we had several people who posted personal bests,” said Grace head coach Jeff Raymond. “Martin also has a great story to tell of what he’s been through to get to this point. He tightened up a bit in the finals and didn’t run as well, but he’s going to continue to get better and better as he gets stronger.”
Austin Keisling nearly equaled Schiele’s 60 dash time in the finals, crossing the finish line in 7.14 to place second.
Grace’s relay teams won two events on Saturday. The men’s distance medley relay squad of Tyler Houvener, Sam Hall, Hunter Reed and Nathan Lane won in a time of 10:38.58, and the 4×200 foursome of Ross Armey, Cameron Johnson, Joel Zook and Keisling won in 1:32.98. The 4×200 missed the school record by less than one second.
The women’s distance medley relay team finished second, made up of Brigit Nemitz, Emma Mitchell, McCalah Mast and Raven Arellano.
Arellano also placed second in the mile at 5:28.41, and Paige Kindig (pole vault), Hall (800m) and Stuckey (weight throw) also finished second.
Third-place finishers on the day include Zook (400m), Lane (800m), Johnson (60m hurdles), and Jessica Zvers (3000m).
The Lancers will travel to Marion, Ind., next weekend for the IWU Invitational.