SLU’s track and field team recorded two new school records and multiple personal records at its April 16-18, tournaments, as the team continued to work towards the Atlantic 10 Championships that will take place in on May 2, and May 3. The Saint Louis squad was split between three meets for the weekend, with parts of the team competing in the prestigious Mt. SAC Relays and part in the Bryan Clay Invitational, both located in California. The rest of the team traveled to Indiana State to take part in the Gibson Relays.
The Mt. SAC Relays saw sophomore Neal Fitzpatrick and senior Annika Gomell, who each ran in the men’s and women’s 5,000 meters, both set new school records. Fitzpatrick bettered his own previous record time by running the 5,000 meters in 14:23.31. Gomell broke 2013 graduate Margo Richardson’s school record with a time of 16:13.74 in the event.
Meanwhile, at Indiana State, sophomore Hannah Rohde finished in fifth place in the 200 meters, recording a time of 25.02. Senior Jamee Holmes finished in third place in the women’s 800 meters with a time of 2:12.68. Senior Madie Alexander recorded a time of 4:36.78, which was good for fifth place in the women’s 1,500 meters.
The women’s 4×100 relay team also posted a strong result at the Gibson Invitational. The team, which consisted of sophomore Rachel Staab, Rohde, sophomore Maddie Bryan and freshman Mackenzie Bonk, finished fifth with a time of 48.15.
The men’s team at Indiana State also had several strong performances. Sophomore Kyle Clinkingbeard crossed
the line in sixth place by running the 400 meters in a time of 48.65. The men’s 4×400 relay team also placed, finishing in third with a time of 3:18.77. The relay team consisted of Clinkingbeard, sophomore Nathan Hall, freshman Josh Freivogel and sophomore Griffin McCurren.
Sophomore Andrew Sloan, who ran the 800 meters at Indiana State, was enthusiastic about the Billikens’ form, and progress over the past few meets.
“This is the part of the season where you want to see everyone on the team peaking and hitting their top form. I think that this is exactly what our team is doing based on the number of PR’s and school records that we’ve broken in the past couple of weeks,” Sloan said.
Next week, the Billikens will compete in the Drake Relays and Kip Janvrin Open, both of which begin on Thursday, April 23. The meets are located in Des Moines and Indianola, Iowa, respectively.
The following week will see the Billikens compete in the A-10 Conference Championships.
Sloan was optimistic about SLU’s chances at the upcoming week’s meets, as well as the A-10 Championships.
“I think that the team as a whole is in a good place when it comes to these final few weeks,” he said. “I think we can continue to improve our times next week, and then have a really good championship meet.”
