Competing over the break at home in Kentner Stadium, the Demon Deacon Track & Field team put together a strong performance at the 2013 Wake Forest Open. Over March 15 and 16, the Deacons won a myriad of events as well as setting multiple new school records in the process.
One of the most impressive of these records was set by senior Ben Lincoln, which earned himself ACC Track & Field Performer of the Week honors, in which he surpassed his own record javelin throw with a distance 75.36 meters. The senior from Hingham, Mass., also broke the Kentner stadium record with this event-winning throw in the first day of competition, while teammates’ senior Patrick Donelan and freshman Aiden McConnell finished in seventh and 19 place respectively.
Another first day highlight came from junior sprinter Mytoia Gathings. Adding to an already impressive season as one of the top runners on the Women’s team, Gathings cemented her Wake legacy last Friday as she broke Carol Merritt’s 100m school record from 2001, with a time 11.89 seconds to claim second in the event. Teammate Myesha Barr finished in 6th with a time 12.17.
The Deacons claimed several medals from the first day of competition, including an impressive 1-2-3 finish for the Women’s 1500 m run by freshman Ashley Brubaker, sophomore Kaitlyn Oliver and freshman Samantha Jones. The trio as well as sixth and seventh place finishers Kathleen Darling and Aubrey Waggoner all set personal best times in this event. The Men’s 1500 m runners also dominated, with juniors Kyle Graves and Alexander placing first and fourth respectively, followed by teammates Anthony Marois and Ryan Horgan in eighth and 12.
Other top-4 finishes for Wake came from senior Erin Brooks and Montasia Golden in Women’s Triple Jump (first, third), Brianna Dekine in the 400 m (fourth), and seniors Jake Graham and Nate Guthals in the 3000 m Steeplechase (third and fourth).
The second day of competition proved to be another impressive affair as records were broken by freshmen Jessie Merckle and Katie Adair. Merckle set the new school record for the Women’s Javelin Throw with a distance of 50.32 m in her first ever collegiate competition. This throw passed a record set back in 2008 and also gave Merckle the win.
Katie Adair, a freshman transfer from the University of Oklahoma, cemented her place in the record books for the Pole Vault with her event winning height of 12-11.5. This record not only passed up Jill Ahrens’ 2008 record, but also was a whole foot higher than any of her competitors’ vaults.
Other strong performances for the Deacons came in the middle-distance and distance events. After an exceptional performance in 1500 m run on Friday, Distance runners Samantha Jones, Kathleen Darling, Ashley Brubaker and Aubrey Waggoner claimed second-fifth places for the Demon Deacons in 3000m run. These times were also personal bests, with fellow runners Meredith Kilburn and Lindsay Kerr rounding out the field in ninth and 41.
In the Men’s 800, junior Thomas Bojanowski claimed first with teammates juniors Kyle Eager and Michael McEnany claiming third and eighth as top 10 placers. Mytoia Gathings followed up her record setting day by setting a personal best in the 200m with 24.55 en route to sixth. The Deacons will compete again this Saturday, March 23 with High Point’s Vertklasse Meeting.