Grace Begins Indoor Track Season
By Josh Neuhart
Grace College Sports Information
MARION – Grace’s track and field team began its indoor season in earnest over the weekend with the IWU Invitational.
The Lancers started the season after a two-month break from campus between academic semesters. Grace had just one week of practice to prepare for the meet.
The men’s 4×400-meter relay squad won the race with a time of 3:30.04. Issiac Mitchell, Michael Williams, Kyle Smith and Tyler Morrison finished three seconds faster than their closest competitor. It was the final race of the weekend, ending Grace’s meet on a high note.
The 4×800 squad of Isaac Beatty, Luke Smith, Maurice Macklin and Kyle Smith were runners-up at 8:01.49.
In the 200-meter race, John Green placed second at 22.61 seconds followed by Isaac Findley in fourth at 23.20.
In the 600, Beatty finished third at 1:23.65, Macklin placed fifth, and Luke Smith was seventh.
Dimitri Margaritidis grabbed a fourth-place finish in the 1,000 at 2:37.15, and Logan Rufenacht was six hundredths of a second behind him.
Bryan Hernandez-Rios was third in the 3,000 (8:53.39), Isaac Brown placed fourth in the high jump, and Neal Kathary grabbed fifth in the shot put (44-feet-4.75).
On the women’s side, Nordia Campbell was third in the 200 (26.39) and fourth in the 60 (8.02). Heather Plastow also placed in two events, including second in the 800 (2:25.38) and third in the mile (5:22.52).
The women’s 600 saw Kaitlyn Mack place fourth in 1:44.12 and Tara Friesen grab eighth (1:47.15).
Mallory Hiatt finished in fourth place in the 5,000 (18:44.79), and the 4×400 relay team ended up in third place (Mack, Julia Malson, Zoe Huley, Ashley Stoltzfus).
The meet was not scored as a team competition.
The Lancers are back on the track Saturday with the Warrior Invitational at Indiana Tech.