Story by Carson Lafferty, Guest Writer
The Aquinas College Track and Field team participated the WHAC Indoor Conference Meet on February 16th and 17th at Sturrus Sports Center. The Saints have been performing at a high level throughout the entire season but are reaching full stride as the end of their season approaches.
At the Big Meet at Grand Valley State University on February 9th, Junior Ethan Barker broke the indoor 5k school record in a time of 14:42.71. He bettered the previous 42-year-old school record of 14:42.74 by .03 seconds. His time also was an automatic qualifier for NAIA Indoor Track Nationals, which will be held in Brookings, South Dakota. Barker, who won the outdoor 5k conference race last year, is looking to add another conference plaque to his collection on February 16th, where he is set to race the 5k. A large group of Saints are planning to run the 5k at conference and are expected to score many points, as the men were 2023 Cross Country Conference Champs and the women were runner-up.
Along with Barker, many athletes have set school records. Ronnie McMillan broke the women’s 400m record in a time of 57.30, which also automatically qualified her to run at the national meet. McMillan also qualified to run in South Dakota in the 600m when she ran the 5th fastest time in Aquinas history of 1:36.09. Ben Hardy bettered his own school record in the 3k by 3.5 seconds to run a time of 8:23.43. This time also qualified him to run at nationals.
Along with these records, many other athletes on the track team have run national standards in their events. The men’s 4x800m team of Caleb Hodgkinson, Liam Kelly, Ben Hardy, and Jaben Bakker qualified with an automatic qualifier. Lauren Wooer, also qualified for nationals in the 800m with a stellar 2:16.34, improving her standing on the top five board for the 800m. Shaily Baynes also qualified for nationals with her 11-8 ½ jump in pole vault.
The Saints are looking forward to competing at both nationals and conference.
Images Courtesy of Aquinas College Photoshelter
The Saint 