The Elizabethtown College men’s and women’s track and field teams traveled to Selinsgrove, Pa. on Saturday, Feb. 17 for the SU Tune-Up hosted by Susquehanna University at 9:30 a.m. There, the Blue Jays would perform at a high level, with multiple athletes setting new school records. The event was not scored, but Etown showed out as they prepared for the Landmark Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships the next week.
For the women’s team, two Blue Jays highlighted a strong day. Fourth-years — sprinter Jarrett Wagner and thrower Mylea Neidig — took the top spots in their events. They’d come home first in record-breaking fashion. Wagner ran a blazing time of 7.99 seconds in the 60 meter event to earn the first win of the day for the women’s team. Neidig soon followed with a record of her own. She’d blow out the competition with an outstanding throw of 12.74 meters in the shot put event.
Third-year Malik Hudges was the top competitor for the Blue Jays, taking first in the competition’s high jump event. Hudges out-performed his competition, being the lone jumper to clear 1.92 meters. Then, for the school record the third-year cleared the 1.95 meter bar to make Blue Jay history.
Many other members of the teams had impressed by the day’s end. The women’s team saw first-year Kate Bendall set two personal records and she had an overall great day. Bendall took part in the 60 meter hurdles and placed third in the final with a time of 9.55 seconds. She then took part in the triple jump and long jump. In the triple jump, the first-year set another new record for herself with a 10.65 meter jump and then capped off her day with a solid showing in the long jump at 4.82 meters.
Etown was also consistently top three in a number of events. Second-year sprinter Caleigh Bold notched a third place finish in the 200 meter sprint. For the men’s team, first-year Benjamin Ortiz crossed the line in his 3,000 meter run in nine minutes and 39 seconds, for another third place finish for the Blue Jays. The men’s team also took two of the top three spots in the 400 meter event. First-years Logan Freyermuth and Trevor Albright held it down for the Jays with second and third place finishes of 52.18 and 52.34 seconds respectively.
Saturday’s events marked the end of the regular season for the indoor track and field teams.
