By Payton Manis
With conference creeping up, the Tennessee Wesleyan University (TWU) Track team competed in their last regular season track meet. On Saturday, May 18 the TWU Track and Field team attended the Sewanee Mountain Laurel Open track meet.
The Bulldogs kicked off the day strong in field events with Chloe Dailey jumping a season best of 1.43 meters in high jump and Payton Manis jumping a personal best of 1.58 meters.
In the women’s long jump, TWU had five top 10 athletes. Lydia Wever with a mark of 3.90 meters earning her ninth place. Followed by Josephine Zeoli who jumped 4.26 meters placing eighth overall. Next was Mckenna Hubbard who placed seventh with a mark of 4.38 meters. Lisa Schoen placed fourth overall with a jump of 4.79 meters. Taking the gold for the Bulldogs was Grace Clemens with a jump of 5.16 meters. In the shot put, Schoen took home third for TWU with a throw of 38.58 meters.
Two Bulldogs placed top 10 in the triple jump. Sheridan Cruz placed third overall with a jump of 9.62 meters, followed by Manis who jumped a new personal record of 9.85 meters.
The men’s side also made a roar in the field starting with Demetrius Brandley Jr. securing eighth place in the long jump with a mark of 5.30 meters. Noah Johnson took ninth overall with a personal record throw of 35.53 meters in the hammer throw.
In the javelin throw, TWU had four top 10 athletes. Konner Boyle in 10th place with a throw of 22.46 meters. Michah Wilkins secured ninth place with a mark of 25.05 meters and Brayden Cloud finishing eighth with a throw of 25.15 meters. Noah secured seventh by throwing 31.48 meters.
In the discus throw, Johnson and Cloud both tied for ninth with a throw of 34.21 meters. The Bulldogs also had two top 10 athletes for the men’s triple jump. Brandley took fifth overall with a personal record jump of 11.79 meters. Winning gold for TWU was Matt Murphy who jumped 14.13 meters.
The Bulldogs weren’t only showing off in field events. They also got in done on the track.
There were three top 10 finishers in the women’s 100 meter dash. Zeoli placed seventh with a time of 13.96 seconds. Hubbard, earning third place, ran a time of 13.22 seconds. Sariyah Cox was able to take home silver and a new personal record by running 12.82 seconds.
In the 800-meter run TWU had two top 10 finishers. Manis, with a personal record of 2:52.36, earned ninth place. In seventh place was Victoria Verran who ran a 2:48.62. In the 200-meter dash, three Bulldogs placed top 10. In eighth place was Zeoli, who ran a personal record time of 28:97 seconds. Hubbard secured sixth overall with a time of 28:42 seconds. Fifth overall was given to Sheridan, who ran a time of 27.53 seconds.
The women’s sprints were not the only ones getting the job done. The men’s team also showed up and showed out.
To start strong, Connor Craig placed 10th overall in the men’s 1500-meter run by running a personal record time of 4:26.92. Noah Addison was able to take fifth with a time of 4:14.95. In the 110-meter hurdles Dontae Campbell was able to take fourth overall by running a personal record time of 17.23 seconds.
TWU had two men place top 10 in the 400-meter dash. Murphy, in third, had a time of 50.86 seconds. Roni Bailey placed second overall by finishing hard and running a time of 50.80 seconds. KT Buchanan showed off his speed in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.75 earning him first overall. In the 800-meter run a hard-fought seventh place was awarded to Adrian Nelka-Hernandaz who ran a time of 2:07.90.
The Bulldogs had two top 10 athletes in the 400-meter hurdles. Micheal Fuchs ran a 1:05.59 to secure sixth place and Campbell ran a 1:02.77 to earn him fourth overall. AJ Hunt did what he knows how to do, running a time of 23:08 seconds in the 200-meter dash. Buchanan also showed his speed once more by running a time of 21:88 earning him first overall.
The TWU Bulldogs really left it all out on the track to get ready for the AAC Appalachian Conference track and field meet this coming weekend.