Greenville, ILL. -- The Principia men's track and field team competed in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Conference (SLIAC) Championship Meet on Friday and Saturday April 26-27. Principia finished the meet third in the conference. Greenville University won its third straight championship with Webster University placing second. Behind Principia was Spalding University and Fontbonne University. There were several highlights to celebrate for Principia's men including personal records (PR), All-Conference selections, and Principia all-time top 10 performances! The top six people in each event scored points in the meet and the top three earned All-Conference honors.
Freshman
Wisdom Thomas got the scoring going early for Principia on Friday with a second place finish in the triple jump which was a PR by a whopping 38 centimeters. His new PR of 13.52 meter (44' 4.25") moved him into 4
thplace on Principia's history books. On Saturday he placed third in the long jump and set a new PR by 25 centimeters at 6.43 meters (21' 1.25").
Sophomore
Stan Ott wasn't quite at his best in the preliminary throws of the hammer. However, he did make finals where he flipped a switch and threw two meters further than his previous best on one throw, and then came back to the ring and threw two more meters better than the one just before. He finished with a PR of 40.28 meters (132' 2"). His last throw moved him into 9
thplace on Principia's all-time list of best hammer throwers.
Senior
Josh Keeley did not get to run in the fastest heat of the 1500 based on his ranking coming into the meet. Josh pulled the field to their PR's and in the final stretch Josh was pushed as well. He ended up beating a Webster runner by .003 seconds and setting a new PR by three seconds with a mark of 4:15 (equivalent to a 4:34 mile). The timer had to go to the third decimal place to determine the finish and Josh's time earned him All-Conference honors as well. His teammate, junior
Abe Ott, took also took three seconds off of his previous PR time and placed second in 4:06. Abe followed that with a third place finish in the 800. Sophomore
Dean Colarossi set a new PR by two seconds in the 800. Dean transitioned from a sprinter for this season and you could see his 400 meter speed in the final kick as he ran a 2:08.
Freshman E.G. Pierce was the winner of the 800. E.G. ran just behind Abe and the leaders through the first 600 meters and then flashed his sprinter speed at the end. He finished with a new PR of 2:56.54. That was a .4 second improvement.
Sophomore
Brian Malambwe sprinted his way to a new PR in the 400 meter dash with a 50.64. That was good enough for third place as he knocked .3 seconds off of his best time.
Another winner for Principia was sophomore Josh Aleman in the 400 meter hurdles. Josh is also playing rugby and he will be heading to the national championships for rugby with Principia's Thunder Chickens.
Sophomore
Corey Carter is getting great competition in the SLIAC in the short sprints. Corey was behind in the 100 meter dash for all but the last 2 or 3 steps. He had to get by two men that also qualified for indoor nationals. Corey won by .01 seconds. Corey had to face those same speedy men in the 200 also. Coming into the meet, Corey's best time was 21.38. On this day, both Jacob Ridenhour of Webster and Jeremiah Davis of Greenville ran faster with 21.36 and 21.37 respectively which are now the sixth and seventh fastest times in the nation. However, they just pushed Corey to a place he'd never been when he turned in a 21.17 to win this race also and finish with the fourth fastest time in the nation.
The 4x400 meter relay raced to Principia's best time in a couple of decades at 3:19.98. Greenville was in the lead after two laps, but Webster took the lead just before the final exchange. Corey raced to the fastest split of the day in 47.67 seconds for one lap, but it wasn't quite enough to edge the Webster man who ran 47.87. Webster finished .07 seconds ahead to win the event. It was great theater for everyone. Principia's time moved the team into 45
thplace in the nation in the 4x400 meter relay.
Some other honors were bestowed upon the men's team. Corey was named as the SLIAC Track Athlete of the Year. Abe was named to the All-Sportsmanship team. Perhaps the biggest honor was the men's team was selected for the SLIAC Sportsmanship Award.
Congratulations to all the men on a fantastic season of PR's, All-Conference honors, and adding names to the list of best performances ever for Principia College, and most importantly, healings. For most of the team, the SLIAC championships marked the end of their track and field seasons. A handful of athletes will continue for a few more competitions. This is the part of the season that meets become selective regarding who can enter with only performances that meet a standard of being highly competitive allowed for entry as the nation marches closer to the National Championships in four weeks. So, stay tuned for reports on future performances. Be sure to check out how the women did on their results page. Below is a chart outlining all Principia's All-Conference selections and the athletes that scored.
