Track and Field | 12/11/2024 7:56:00 PM
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Ave Maria Track and Field team opened their 2024-25 season Friday at the Keiser University Winter Open. The Women's team won their first ever meet as a team, placing first among six teams with 221 points. The scored 55.5 more points than second place St. Thomas. Individually, both the men's and women's team won a combined 10 events and placed in the top three in three more.
The men's team won four events in the season opener. Michael Long placed first in the men's 800m with a time of 1:51.20. That time is the fastest in the NAIA this season, automatically qualifying him for the National Championships to defend his title. Samuel Paga won the men's 3000m with a time of 9:03.09. Stephen Hart won the men's high jump, leaping 1.75m off the ground. The final event the Gyrene men won was the 4x400 relay. Daniel Kupcho, Benjamin Freeze, Jackson Northrup and Long finished with a time of 3:33.33.
The Gyrenes had three third place finishes as well. Freeze finished third in the men's 800m, Sebastian Shea placed third in the men's 3000m, and Chris Hermann got third in the men's 5000m.
The women had six event wins in West Palm Beach on their way to a team win. In three of those events, the Gyrenes swept first through third place.
In the Women's 800m, Claire Owen won with a time of 2:29.48. Right behind her was Emma Perreault in second with a time of 2:34.83 and Alexis Mendlik in third with a time of 2:35.83.
Sofia Torres won the women's 1000m, clocking in at 3:14.15. In second and third place from Ave Maria was Felicity Foxhoven at 3:16.03 and Madison Thomas at 3:20.40.
The final event that saw the Gyrenes sweep the podium was the women's 5000m. Again, Torres won the race and hit a personal record with a time of 18:39.31. Thomas and Foxhoven swapped places with Thomas placing second with a time of 18:49.19 and Foxhoven in third with a time of 19:32.58.
Av Maria won three more events in the women's 4x400m relay, the high jump and the long jump. The AMU A team won the relay with a time of 4:29.70. In the high jump, Molly From leapt 1.50m for the win. In the long jump, Caitlyn O'Brien flew 5.69m for the win. That distance also qualifies her for the NAIA National Championships.
The Gyrenes had two more top three finishes with O'Brien in the 60m hurdles and Rebecca Perona in the shot put.
Head Coach Alan Webb said the women's meet win was a pleasant surprise. "[It was really] cool the women won and the guys did well too for third. Solid signal of depth."
The Gyrenes are back in action in January up in Gainesville, Florida, for the RADD Invite.
