It was a great day of competition as the Bob Jones University track and field teams made their way to Central, South Carolina for the Gotta Run Invite hosted by Southern Wesleyan University. BJU finished with several school and personal records as the Bruins faced off against schools like Anderson University, Newberry College, Erskine College, Maryville College, and others.
"I am very proud of the team today as it was another solid performance from the team," said Head Coach Ken Roach. "Coming off spring break and with windy conditions today, I felt the team exceeded my expectations in performance marks times today. As a whole, we placed very well across the board with position. I am very blessed with everything this team is able to accomplish. It's a great program to be part of, and they desire a lot of credit."
Grace Bailey opened the meet with a new school record in the javelin as she finished the event with a throw of 28.80 meters to finish sixth out of 25 competitors.
On the track, Trenton Goldsmith made his steeplechase debut. In the 3000 meter race, Goldsmith finished with a time of 11:32.39.
The Bruins then put together a relay team for the 4x100. Kyle Williams, Misha Gray, Isaac VeraCruz and Luke Fressel raced to a time of 46.24.
Up next, it was all freshman in the 1500 meter race. Levi Gerbitz finished first for Bob Jones in the race as he knocked off a second for a new personal best of 4:34.55. Justin VanDen Berghe and Garret Collins also competed in the event.
On his third attempt in the discus, Joshua Garian threw a personal best of 34.43 meters with Daniel Garian going a distance of 28.68 meters on his first attempt. In the women's event, Brynn Lytell hit a new PR with a throw of 24.08 meters.
Alyssa Marks set a new school record in the 400 meters as she raced around the track in 61 seconds. Teammate Emily Walton was close behind as she stopped the clock at 1:04.84.
In the 100 meter, Luke Fressel finished in seventh place with a time of 10.94.
The Bruins represented well in the 800 meter race. For the women, Naomi Mendoza finished in the top ten with a time of 2:41.91 in her first 800. Right behind her was Kristen Dodds at 2:42.26. Ainsley Zimmerman and Maddie Pedder both PR'd in the event with Kathryn Armato finishing her first 800 event. On the men's side, Andrew Sarver came in tenth with a time of 2:03.94 followed close behind by Joel Batres-Mena (2:04.49), Isaac VeraCruz (2:08.66), Kyle Williams (2:19), and Bradley Koons (2:23).
Later in the afternoon, Daniel Garian was back on the field to compete in the shot put. In his fifth and final throw of the competition, he finished seventh overall with a throw of 11.57 meters.
Setting a new school record in the 400 meter hurdles, Misha Gray raced around the track with a record time of 58.31.
In the 200 meter, Alyssa Marks stopped the clock at 28.31 followed by Melody Davis. Luke Fressel hit a top time of 22.29 to come in fifth overall in a field of 39 runners.
Several Bruins toed the line in the 3000 meter race. Liesl Heinz finished in second place behind Southern Wesleyan University with a time of 11:50.91 as she cut 13 seconds off her previous personal best. Teammate Joy Hast was close behind in third at 12:05.44.
Finishing the meet on a high note, Sol Shafer won the men's 3k with a time of 9:06.29. Evan Seaman finished 10 seconds later in second place for a massive personal record. Marc Johnson also PR'd at 9:37.01.
Full results from Friday's Gotta Run Invite can be found
here.
The Bruins will have a couple weeks without a meet before they're back in competition on April 12-13.
