Photo courtesy of Eric Sucar | Freshman Jennifer Prial was a top performer on the women’s side for the track and field team last weekend at the Ball State Challenge. She finished second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, posting a time of 11:26:98.
This past weekend, the Xavier track and field team traveled to Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., to compete in the Ball State Challenge.
For the second week in a row, the Musketeers strung together 14 top-10 finishes.
Entering the weekend, the team was looking to build on the previous week’s success from the Hilltopper Relays in Bowling Green, Ky.
Xavier also entered the weekend knowing it would be up against tough competition, going up against schools such as Grand Valley State, Northern Kentucky and Toledo.
However, the meet’s strong contenders did not deter the Musketeers.
“What I enjoyed the most about the meet was how we competed,” head coach Ryan Orner said. “Most track meets are about hitting a standard or time but the conditions forced our athletes to forget about all that and compete hard.”
Overall, the women’s track and field team saw the most success. Accounting for nine of the 14 top-10 finishes, the women performed well in both track and field events.
In the field, junior Alexa Deutsch placed second overall in javelin with a throw of 35.44 meters.
In track events, Xavier was able to post two more top-two finishes.
Freshman Anna Kostarellis had the best run of the weekend, placing second after running a 2:17.20 in the 800-meter run.
Freshman Jennifer Prial also placed second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, running 11:26.98.
Other notable times came from freshman Jenna Clayworth, who placed third in the 1,500-meter run, (4:40.78), and freshman Abby Fioresi, who placed fourth in the 800-meter run (2:18.68).
The men tallied four top-10 finishes, all of which were also top-three finishes. Sophomore John Hautz placed second in the 5,000-meter run in 15:21.0, while junior Grayson Jenkins placed second in the 1,500-meter run in 4:01.67.
Freshman Connor Meehan had a strong performance in the 800-meter run, as he placed third in 1:56.68.
Freshman Brady Harless wrapped up the top scores for Xavier, as he placed third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:01.36).
“I think we made a lot of progress over the past two weekends, and I’m excited for the opportunities we have coming up,” Orner said.
The Musketeers will look to build on this momentum as they split up the team to compete in three separate events this weekend: the Bryan Clay Invitational and the Mt. SAC Relays in California in addition to the Pacesetter Sports Invitational in Indiana.
By: Colin Cooper ~Staff Writer~