The Trinity Track & Field teams kicked off the season this past Sunday at the indoor Emory Crossplex Invitational in Birmingham, Ala.
First years Elizabeth Peters and Nkolika Nweke advanced to the finals in the women’s 60 meter. With her time of 7.96 seconds, Nweke came in 10th at the meet and tied for 35th in the nation. Not far behind Nweke was Peters, who finished in 16th after running in 8.08 seconds. In the triple jump, first year Britney Sullivan set a personal best at 11.34 meters, earning fifth at the meet and tied for 11th in the nation. Sullivan posted a mark of 4.94 meters in the long jump.
The Tiger women were well represented in the 200, with co-captain Bailey Drury leading the charge with a 12th place finish of 26.59 seconds. Drury was followed by Nweke in 15th (26.67 seconds), Katie Groke in 29th (27.26 seconds) and Peters in 30th (27.27 seconds). Drury and Groke also did well in the 400. Drury came in 10th with a time of 60.64 seconds, and Groke finished 12th with a time of 61.05 seconds.
The Tiger men also had a solid start to the season.
“The season started off strong for the program,” said sophomore thrower Stephen Mason. “The freshman athletes really showed what they were made of. Even though the men’s throwers didn’t compete, we’ll be ready to take on the world when outdoor events start up.”
In the 200, the men came away winning three heats. Eric Booker came in 10th (22.83 seconds), Cody Wolfe in 14th (22.91 seconds) and Michael McIntosh finished 25th (23.29 seconds). Booker also performed well in the 60, almost advancing to the finals after finishing 17th with a time of 7.19 seconds. Wolfe placed 21st in the 60 (7.24 seconds) with newcomer David Soo just behind him in 26th at 7.31 seconds. McIntosh, Booker, Cody Hall and Ian Plantz finished sixth as a team in the 4×400 relay with a time of 3:29.49.
Hall placed 11th in Division III national times after an 8.31-second run in the 60-meter hurdles preliminaries. He went on to earn a fourth spot overall at finals with a time of 8.37 seconds.
Head coach Marcus Whitehead was pleased with the team’s performance at this invitational.
“We brought a really small group; it was only 11 athletes. But we had really strong performances from everyone. And we’re looking forward to potentially taking a few of these kids to another indoor [meet] to possibly qualify for individuals.”
Next up for the Tigers is the Alumni/Intra-Squad Meet Saturday, Jan. 31, at the Trinity Football Stadium and Track.
