ST. LOUIS, MO – The Principia Track & Field team competed in their first meet of the outdoor track season at Washington University's Bushyhead Track this weekend. WashU held the Distance Carnival on Friday, and the WashU Invite took place on Saturday. The Panthers competed alongside athletes from NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA, and JUCO programs.
At the Distance Carnival on Friday, five Principia athletes competed in the 5000m.
Sarah Erickson ran a personal best by over a minute, finishing with a time of 22:21.
Rex Heath and
Zach Proctor led the men with times of 16:31 and 16:49.
On Saturday,
Corey Carter made a statement in his first official races since 2022, winning both the 100m dash and 200m dash in very competitive fields. Carter's 100m time of 10.64 is tied for 14th fastest in Division III this year and only .02 seconds off of his wind-legal personal best. His 200m time of 21.12 is the third fastest in the country for DIII this outdoor season. Carter also ran the fastest leg of the 4x400 for the men, helping the team to a fourth place finish in the relay with a final time of 3:26.92.
Dillon Hussey,
Nana Koranteng, and
Pius Sempumbu ran the other legs of the 4x400.
Other men's notable performances include:
Howard James took sixth place in the long jump with a jump of 6.37 meters (20' 10.75").
Tobin Blair took fifth place in the javelin with a throw of 46.82 meters (153' 7").
Nana Koranteng finished eighth overall in the 800m with a time of 1:58.35, while
Dillon Hussey also finished eighth overall in the 400m Hurdles with a time of 1:00.67.
Jimmy Woodrow edged teammate
Rex Heath by less than a second in the 1500m to take 17th place with a time of 4:22.15.
Two notable women's performances came from two freshmen competing in their first collegiate outdoor meet.
Amarachi Ejimadu stamped her name on Principia's all-time top ten list in the 200m dash with a time of 27.19 – the sixth fastest time in the history of the program – while
Myka Fenton ran a strong 800m of 2:40.69.
Up Next: The Panthers will head to Jacksonville, IL next Saturday, April 6th to compete at the Illinois College True Blue Invite.
