The University of Indianapolis men and women’s track teams hosted the Tom Hathaway Distance Carnival in the Athletics and Recreation Center on Feb. 14.
Senior TJ Lovejoy threw 18.34 meters in the weight throw and 16.46 meters in shot put to achieve two provisional marks. Senior Alex Cushman finished the 5000 meter with a time of 14:32.56 for a provisional mark and a new school record in that event. For the women, junior Farin Hickman achieved her provisional mark in the weight throw with a throw of 16.38 meters and in the 800 meter, freshman Kieran Casey finished first with a time of 14:32.56.
Prior to the Tom Hathaway Distance Carnival, some members of the track team travelled to Hillsdale College for the Hillsdale Wide Track Classic on Feb. 6. The lucky number had appeared to be four for the Greyhounds, as four provisional marks were made for the teams’ fourth meet in a row.
Lovejoy earned a provisional mark in the weight throw with a throw of 19.11 meters. Freshman Austin Hogan earned his first provisional mark of his collegiate career in the shot put with a throw of 15.81 meters.
For the women, freshman Katie Monk threw 13.73 meters in the shot put to achieve her provisional mark, and she currently holds the first overall spot in the conference for shot put. Senior LaTisha Martin earned a provisional mark in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.43.
Head Track and Field Coach Scott Fangman said that while the performance at Hillsdale was statistically disappointing, the team has a lot of time to continue to improve before the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships on Feb. 28.
“At this time, we’re usually better, but so what? It doesn’t mean we’re bad,” Fangman said. “We’ve got young people, we’ve got room for improvement and we’ve just got to keep working. We have some bright spots … there are a couple of events where we have several people in the top ten. So we just need to push them.”
Junior Haley Havert was also optimistic about the team’s overall performance and has high hopes for the conference meet.
“This is my best season yet, and I would say the same for my team. We have many competitors that are just seconds away from hitting the national provisional marks, and I think some of us can hit those marks at Conference.” Havert said.
There are currently 31 members of the women’s team and 25 for the men, both, who are ranked in the top ten of the conference events, ranging from sprints to throws. Sophomore Connor Stouder is one of them and is ranked in the 60, 200 and 400-meter dashes.
As a freshman, Stouder placed in conference and hopes to have a repeat of that this year to benefit the team’s overall standings.
“I performed well at conference last year as a freshman, so I definitely want to place higher this time, like top three, and achieve all-conference and score points for our team,” Stouder said. “Each day I come to practice ready to perform my hardest, and [Assistant] Coach [Giles] Davis is helping the rest of us get ready for conference.”
The weekend before the GLVC conference championships, both teams will travel to Ohio State for the Buckeye Tune-Up on Feb. 20. Fangman said that while not everyone gets to run at the meet, those who do compete at the Divison I school might have a mentality adjustment that will benefit them for the rest of the season.
“The names don’t matter and neither do the uniforms after you compete with the best [at Ohio State University],”
he said. “Running in heats with people faster than you is going to push you to get a little faster the next weekend and maybe get gutsy and take the lead.”
The Greyhounds will compete at Ohio State University for the Buckeye Tune-Up on Feb. 20 at 4 p.m.
