Allendale, Michigan - The men's track & field team had to play switcheroo with the schedule makers as Aquinas flip-flopped dates to compete yesterday instead of on Saturday. The impending forecast for tomorrow afternoon had the host Lakers make the switch and allowed the student-athletes an opportunity to compete with next to perfect conditions. The Saints saw a new school record, many personal and seasonal bests and three more national qualifying marks get established.
The meet was headlined by the breakthrough performances of
Ben Hardy and
Edward Frey in the men's 5000 meters. Hardy would garner his second school record of the year as the senior from East Jordan crossed in 14:29.42. His performance eclipsed the previous standard that was held by Brian Lehmkuhle (14:32.16) since the 1982 outdoor track & field season. Frey would also set the track ablaze as the GR West Catholic product earned a "B" standard with a time of 14:37.33. His effort would move him to #3 on the Saints All-Time List and removed AQ legends Devin Lea and Gannon Foley from the top five list. Another big performance from the distance crew came from
Brian Langlois in the 3000 meter steeplechase. The GR Catholic Central grad crossed the line in 9:24.17 to set a 12 second personal best and provisionally qualify him for the NAIA National Championships. Other seasonal best on the track were turned in by
Marcus Mitchell in the 400 meters (50.05) and
Tyler Vandierdonck in the 1500 meters (4:03.67).
Caleb Hodgkinson (1:55.92) and
Jacob Tenbusch (1:58.87) also turned in season best in the 800 meters.
In the field the Saints saw a new career best recorded by
Blake Whetstone in the high jump. Blake's jump of 6' 4.25" moved him to 4th on the WHAC's Performance List.
Wesley Russell (44' 0.5") and
Ethan Morgan (42' 8.75) both set outdoor bests in the shot put, while Russell also hit a new personal best in the hammer (125' 3").
Aquinas will return to action next week as the Saints will compete at the WHAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships hosted by Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne.
