Both the men and women of the track squads showed very promising team efforts at the two-day University of Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawk Classic Invitational this past Friday and Saturday. Since 10 teams were participating, the meet was separated into a men’s meet on Friday and a women’s meet on Saturday, with the men taking seventh and the women finishing third.
This meet is the most competitive DIII meet in the country, especially for indoor season, producing many of the top times in the nation. This created a great opportunity for the Maroons to reach new heights in their events. Despite both teams being smaller than usual after suffering from illnesses and injuries, the depth of the team proved to be very strong against some very large and talented opponents.
In dealing with the smaller group, both teams showed great unity and gave encouragement to every athlete on the team, with teammates constantly cheering each other on during their breaks in between events. This strong team support created the enthusiasm and confidence to produce some outstanding performances.
The men’s team showed very impressive performances in both the 4×200-meter relay and the 4×400-meter relay, placing second and fourth. Other exciting performances from the night came from third-year Patrick LeFevre, who placed second in the 60-meter hurdles, and classmate Jacob Amiri who took fourth in the 800. “To have guys across multiple event groups score points this early on is really exciting,” said Tyson Miller, a first-year on the 4×400-meter relay.
One highlight of the night for the women’s team came when first-year Alisha Harris broke the school record in the 60-meter dash in only her third collegiate track meet with a time of 7.84 seconds. Like many of the first-years of the team, Harris has shown immense potential and has created a lot of excitement for the team’s future. “I think the first-year class this year is the strongest we have had yet not only as far as athletic potential, but also being excellent teammates to one another,” said fourth-year captain Charissa Newkirk.
Another exciting moment of the women’s meet was when the four UChicago 5K runners snatched the first four finishes, with Taylor Campos and Claire Brockway making the first-year honor roll. Captain and fourth-year Minnie Horvath, the winner of the 5K, expressed her excitement and confidence in the team’s future: “we look set-up to have a strong rest of the season!”
Other top finishers for the women include third-year Cassidy McPherson, who took second in the mile, second-year Alexandra Thompson, who took second place in the high jump, first-year Mary Martin, who finished second in the long jump, and the 4×200 and 4×400-meter relays that both snatched third place victories.
With such strong performances and team unity, the UChicago track and field teams are looking toward a successful future this upcoming weekend with a meet at home on Saturday, the Windy City Invitational.
