Men’s indoor track & field team battles conference foes to rewarding finish

Photo credit: Gettysburg College Office of Athletic Communications

Photo credit: Gettysburg College Office of Athletic Communications

By Andy Milone, Web Content Editor

The Gettysburg men’s indoor track & field team competed at the two-day Centennial Conference Championships this past weekend where there were many personal bests along with many competitors placing in the top eight. The men completed their indoor segment with a sixth place finish, which was three points short of fifth place Dickinson.

Senior Ben Taber had one triumph in the form of a bronze medal in the 5K loop, but he took himself out midway through the 3K race due to a re-occurring calf injury. Other standout and senior captain Nathan Wojick led the distance medley relay to a school record finish placing fourth at 10:24.32, but all Wojick’s focus was placed on the 800-meter dash where he was seeded as the top runner.

Wojick began the race strong, but he tripped on one of the other runner’s legs as the races became physical. He went to the ground, which cost him the chance at scoring points. He would return to anchor the Orange & Blue in 4 x 800-meter relay, which placed fourth and was deemed the fourth fastest in school history.

Sophomore trio Alex Petrecca, Matt Robinson, and Thad Cwiklinski turned in a strong showing as they contributed to the record breaking distance medley relay along with Wojick. This trio would also contribute to the 4 x 800-meter relay that finished in 8:06 seconds.

Robinson and Petrecca both raced in the mile, but only Robinson placed in the top eight to score points for Gettysburg from the second heat. Cwiklinski also paced an 8th place finish in the 400-meter dash at a time of 54.22 seconds.

“I was very pleased with my individual performance. On Saturday, the DMR went really well and the other team members and I were very excited to know that we set a new school record,” said Robinson. “It was an exciting race, and I was very satisfied with my mile on Sunday when I ran a personal best.”

Other senior captain Collin Bergey also demonstrated his speed in the 200-meter dash as he sank competitors for a bronze medal, and junior Willie Nolan brought the bronze back to Gettysburg in the pole vault with a personal record. Junior Thomas Clark set a goal to break the school record in the heptathlon, and this is what he did when he achieved school record status putting up 3,736 points in the span of the two days.

First year Ezekiel Omosanya continued his strong campaign in the 60-meter dash as he lowered the school record for the second week in a row, which now stands at 7.13 seconds. First year Evan Bertonazzi also contributed to a 4 x 200 squad that finished in fourth.

“The team fought through a lot of adversity through the course of the season and the meet for a strong finish,” said Petrecca. “We had a lot of injury problems throughout the year but many on the team came through with key performances this weekend when called upon.”

The Gettysburg Bullets will compete next at Little Three Meet on March 25 after spring break.

Author: Web Editor

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