The Chicagoland Championship for the men’s track and field team took place this past Saturday at the College of DuPage. The competition included DI, DII, and DIII teams. This meet kicked off the outdoor season of track and field for the Maroons, as the Ted Haydon Invitational, scheduled for April 2, was cancelled due to inclement weather.
The Maroon men placed fourth out of 16 teams, finishing the meet with 88 points. The winner of the entire meet on the men’s side was North Central College, finishing with 186 points. Chicago ended with four top finishers on the day. Additionally, the Maroons placed second in three events.
Two of these second place finishes came on the field. Third-year Andrew Maneval placed second in the shotput, throwing 14.62m, just one centimeter ahead of third place. Meanwhile, fourth-year Michael Bennett placed second in the pole vault, managing to ascend to 4.70m before the end of the day.
On the track, Chicago secured second- and third-place finishes. In the 400-meter hurdles, fourth-year Ryan Manzuk finished third with a time of 55.56 seconds, coming within a second of first. The 4×400-meter relay team that included Manzuk, fourth-year Jacob Romeo, third-year Jatan Anand, and second-year Nathan Downey placed second with a time of 3:30.89.
The squad is looking to improve on its results from the indoor season during the winter. While the Maroons did place higher than second in four of their seven meets, they did not send any representative to the NCAA DIII Championship.
However, it is important to note that the Maroons already improved upon their 6th place finish at the Indoor Chicagoland Championship that occured in February. Although there were five more teams competing, Chicago jumped up two spots, showing that perhaps a breakthrough is on the way.
The next meet for Chicago is at Wheaton College for the Twilight Meet, which will take place this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Due to the cancellation of the Ted Haydon Invitational, which was supposed to be the first meet of the outdoor season, the Wheaton meet is Chicago’s last chance to fine-tune its race form for the UAA Championship on April 23 and 24.
The South Siders are poised to make a run for the UAA Championship, and look forward to the Wheaton Twilight Meet as a opportunity to show that they are a force to be reckoned with.
