Track and Field Compete in DI Meet to Try and Qualify for Nationals

Terre Haute, IN- A small contingent of Principia College women's and men's track and field teams competed in the Pacesetter Invitational hosted by Indiana State University on Friday May 7.
 
A Look at the Meet- It was a Division 1 meet with several schools from other divisions including from the SLIAC. The meet was a roller coaster of weather from sun out and warm to no sun and cool with strong winds all day.
 
Women's Highlights/Personal Bests- Abby Holt got her second best outdoor jump of her Principia career with a 1.55 meters (5' 1") jump. On the track, Emme Schaefer ran her lifetime best by 2.02 seconds to finish her 800 meter run in 2:26.00. This moved her from 10^th on Principia's list to a tie for eighth with Tess Bollinger from 1991. She moved past another 1991 time by Kerste Bryant by .1 seconds.
 
Men's Highlights/Personal Bests- Chris Puduski was the top collegiate hammer thrower in the meet. He set a huge PR by 7' 7" with a throw of 60.51 meters (198' 6"). Stan Ott finished his Principia career with a strong finish close to a PR with a 46.07 meter (151' 2") throw. Quinn Heinbaugh also set a PR by 1.68 seconds with a 1:54.02. This put Quinn onto Principia's top 10 all the way up to 7^th place. He moved past Tim Kirkpatrick, 1977; Derrick Fleming, 2001; Jake Meier, 2011; and Jim Jenkins, 1977. This also moved Quinn up into the top 50 current DIII rankings at 46. Corey Carter made big strides in the 200. He finished in 21.68, which was over .3 seconds faster than last week. That is moving him in a direction closer to qualifying for nationals. He will most certainly need to continue improving as right now he is tied for 17^th in DIII with two more weeks of qualifying. Dean Colarossi also set lifetime best in the 200 with a time of 24.48 seconds. Corey, Dean, Wisdom Thomas, and Quinn finished the day with a nice showing in the 4x400 meter relay finishing in 3:25.39.
 
Up Next- We will have a handful of athletes that will continue competing. We are most likely going to North Central on May 13 and 14, but check out our online schedule for any possible changes and updates. We are still on track for Principia to be represented at nationals. The top 17 men and top 19 women in DIII will qualify. Currently, Chris is ranked fourth in the hammer, Wisdom is ranked 14^th in the long jump, and Corey Carter is tied for 17^th.