TIGERS SET SCHOOL RECORDS AT GVSU HOLIDAY OPEN

ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Olivet Nazarene University men's and women's track & field teams set new school records and punched multiple tickets to nationals on Friday at the GVSU Holiday Open, hosted by Grand Valley State University.

The Tigers set the tone for the day with big performances in the women's and men's 5000m, with four runners setting personal bests. Catherine White and Jacey Schickel both hit A-standards and qualified for nationals with times of 17:45.69 and 18:13.95, respectively, while Lauren Smith set a personal record at 19:18.50. Peyton Hobson ran to a time of 15:57.00 for a personal best in the men's race.

Linda Griffith and Hannah Antkoviak had record days on the track, with both runners hitting A-standards and breaking a school record. Antkoviak ran an 8.80 time in the 60m hurdles to break Shandra Spurlock's school record of 8.85 which had stood since 1998. This time easily cleared the NAIA-A standard, punching her ticket to nationals. Griffith also hit the national qualifying standard A-standard in the 60m hurdles at 8.87.

Griffith turned in a school record of her own, crossing the finish line at 56.70 in the 400m dash to break Tera Miller's time of 57.30 which had been a record for one year. Griffith's time also cleared the NAIA-A standard to punch her ticket to nationals. Antkoviak also cleared the national qualifying A-standard in the 400m dash at 57.06. Griffith and Antkoviak placed fourth and fifth overall, respectively. Kiara Carter then placed seventh overall in the 200m dash with a time of 25.36, clearing the NAIA-B standard for the event.

Vincent Giulano continued his strong start to the year with a second-place finish in the 400m dash, clocking in at 48.16 to finish runner-up. He also turned in a 6.89 in the 60m dash, nearly breaking the school record he set a week prior.

The Tigers had two runners in the top-10 of the 800m run, with Brett Hulliberger and Max Grant crossing the finish line within one-tenth of a second from each other at 1:56.10 and 1:56.11 for sixth and seventh place finishes, respectively. Erik Richter finished just outside of the top-10 in 11th place with a time of 1:57.17.

Lana Krohe collected the bronze in the women's shot put with a 12.27m throw. In the men's shot put, Brody Vollrath hit a throw of 13.73m to take fourth place.

The Tigers closed out the meet with strong performances in the 4x400m relay. In the women's race, Kimberley Brent, Griffith, Tera Miller, and Antkoviak hit a time of 3:51.27 to place second overall and clear the national qualifying A-standard. On the men's side, Ben Tavares, Giuliano, Grant, and Alex Powell clocked in at 3:20.08 to place fourth in the event.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Tigers will take a break to enjoy the holidays. They will return to the track in the new year on Jan. 20 at the Warrior Indoor Invitational in Fort Wayne, Ind.

--ONU—

*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu