Men’s track has success in two meets

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The men’s track team sent athletes to both sides of the country to compete last weekend.

The team sent top throwers senior Greg Pilling and freshman Alex Rose to compete in the Sooner Invitational in Norman, Okla. The distance runners and other field competitors traveled to Hillsdale College to compete in the Gina Relays.

Despite the distance between the split squads, the results could not have been more positive. Coach Willie Randolph said he sent athletes to different meets to build scores and momentum as the schedule nears the postseason.

“Were sending certain people to certain areas to make sure they are getting exactly what they need to have,” Randolph said.

The majority of the men’s and women’s team took the weekend off, and Randolph said it was designed to refresh some of the athletes.

“The body needs some recovery time,” he said. “And if you’re going too fast too soon, you’re going to have some flat tires.”

SOONER INVITATIONAL

Throwers Pilling (182 feet, 10 inches), and Rose (171-11) placed third and sixth place in the hammer throw, respectively. The pair faired well in the discus event, with Pilling taking fourth place with a throw of 179-3 and Rose fifth with a distance of 176-3.

Randolph said he has been pleased with Rose’s progression, as he is still relatively new to track and field.

“He’s only been competing in track and field for two years now, so he is developing every time he goes out and throws,” he said. “He’s got a lot of talent.”

GINA RELAYS

Sophomore Josh Kettlewell emerged at Hillsdale College at the Gina Relays. Competing in his first decathlon, he won the event with a combined score of 6,522 points. He also won three events in the meet, claiming first in long jump (21-7 1/2), pole vault (15-9) and the 100-meter hurdles (15.54).

Junior Sammy Kiprotich took third in the 10,000-meter run, finishing with a career-best time of 30:04.14.

The men travel again next weekend when athletes compete in the Jesse Owens Classic in Columbus, Ohio, and the Cardinal Invitational in Stanford, Calif.