Cedarville, OH - The track & field squads were back in action on Saturday for the "Yellow Jacket Open" at Cedarville University and achieved a number of new personal bests and three new school records.
The meet featured twenty teams from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan and, after an hour delay at the start of the meet due to thunderstorms moving through the area, temperatures rose into the high 60s as the sun broke through the clouds, and combined with strong wind gusts throughout the afternoon.
Overall, Grace head coach Gerry Verwey was pleased with the results. "We still have work to do to clean some stuff up in field events, but I love the drive of our athletes," noted Verwey after Saturday's meet. "Their competitiveness is coupled with an openness to coaching and that's why we're seeing some big improvements from our athletes." Coach Verwey added that there is still work to do in the running events, as well. "Our toughness in the distance events and in coming out of the blocks for our sprinting events are areas for improvement but I know our athletes are aware of this and are ready to get better at those things," added Verwey.
Men's Highlights:
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Senior Kent Herring (Evart, MI) had a huge day. Herring set the new school record in javelin with a throw of 36.64m and had the second longest long jump in school history with a new personal best of 5.74m. He also tied his personal best in shot put (8.27m) and set a new personal record in the 110m high hurdles (20.19s).
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Freshman Aidan Gansert (Fort Wayne, IN) added a new event to his resume as a school record holder when he broke the record in the hammer throw with a toss of 26.98m. The previous record of 25.64m had been set by Scott Pankow back in 2019. Gansert also re-broke his school record in shot put (10.96m) and had a very solid effort in javelin (33.00m).
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Senior Angel Becerra (Allendale, MI) set a new season record in shot put with a toss of 9.03m. A wet and slippery discus circle due to the morning rain led to Becerra maintaining a safe and conservative effort in that event; however, watch for him to have great success in discus later this season.
Women's Highlights:
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Junior Alyssa Gennety (Jackson, MI) ran a strong 1500m race, coming within three seconds of her personal best time in that event. Gennety showed poise and competitiveness in a loaded field with a strong headwind on the back stretch of the track, finishing in a time of 5:38.28.
Next up for the Tigers is a meet this weekend at Spring Arbor University. The "Bill Bippes Cougar Classic" will begin at 10 AM on Saturday, April 6 with Grace set to compete against Spring Arbor University, Lawrence Tech, Alma College, Concordia University, and SW Michigan Community College.
