The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men’s track and field team claimed championships in three events at the Crossroads League meet on Thursday and Friday, May 6–7, at Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana.
After a day in which Kyler Dickey and Zach Jenney won conference championships in men’s shot put and discus, respectively, Terril Skinner claimed his own conference crown in the men’s 110-meter hurdles. Dickey, Jenney and Skinner each received all-league honors as well.
Marian won the meet with a total of 162 points overall, and MVNU placed eighth out of 10 teams with 47 points.
Skinner was the champion in the 110-hurdles with a time of 14.70 seconds, Dickey’s throw of 16.68 meters was tops in the shot put and Jenney won the discus with a throw of 46.27 meters.
The 4x800 relay team of Colin Gaines, Garrett Gemmaka, Isaac Ramseyer and Clayton Slemmons placed fourth and set a new school record with a time of 7:48.89.
Kasey Keith finished as the conference runner-up in the women’s shot put with a throw of 12.96.
The Marian women’s team won the meet with a total of 200.5 points. MVNU placed eighth with a total of 31 points.
Keith earned all-league honors in the shot put and hammer (43.94), while Macy Weaver earned all-league honors in the 10,000m run with a time of 39:34.71, which set a new school record.
Keith also placed fifth in the discus with a throw of 37.78.
BASEBALL
Jake Glover’s RBI double in the fifth inning ended up being the game-winner. MVNU used a four-run third inning to take the lead and a three-run sixth inning to add some insurance in an 11-5 win over Marian in the Crossroads League tournament on Monday, May 10, at Indiana Wesleyan in Marion, Indiana.
Andrew Miller led the Cougars with a pair of hits, three runs and three RBIs, though the top five batters in the lineup each had two hits.
Kaleb Bauman got the win, allowing four earned runs over six innings; and Bo Wilson worked the last three innings to earn the save.
MVNU opened the tournament on Friday, May 7, with a 17-4 win in seven innings over Saint Francis but fell to top-seeded and host Indiana Wesleyan on Saturday, May 8, in Marion, Indiana.
IWU got on the board first on a sacrifice-bunt by MJ Stavola to take a 1-0 lead. IWU tacked on another run in the top of the sixth on a Jeff Mortin single that scored Stavola. MVNU responded with a run of its own, thanks to an RBI single from Aaron Saal.
Denver Blinn’s solo home run in the ninth inning accounted for the final margin.
Despite getting tagged with the loss, Josh Pettit pitched a strong game on the mound for MVNU. He went 5 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits and just two earned runs while striking out three.
Luke Tucker gave MVNU a solid 2 1/3 innings in relief. He gave up just one hit and no earned runs while striking out two.
Glover was 2-for-4 at the plate to lead MVNU against IWU.
After trailing 3-0, fifth-seeded MVNU scored five runs in the top half of the third inning to take the lead for good, cruising to a win over fourth-seeded Saint Francis in the opener.
Glover was great on both sides of the ball. He pitched seven solid innings. Settling down after the first inning, he was dominant, giving up only four hits on the game and striking out four. At the plate, Glover went 3-for-5 with a home run and five RBIs.
Casey Kalman also had a good night at the plate. He finished the game 3-for-5 as well with an RBI and a run scored.
Chris Kline had three hits in four at bats and walked once. He scored three of the four times he reached base and also drove in three runs.
SOFTBALL
Kristin Mihalic’s two-run home run in the first inning gave host Taylor all the runs it needed in a 4-2 win, eliminating MVNU from the Crossroads League tournament on Friday, May 7, in Upland, Indiana.
Kaylee Myers got the Cougars on the board with a solo home run. She finished the game with one hit in three at bats, with an RBI and a run scored.
Kylee Matern finished with two hits on the afternoon. She also scored a run for MVNU.
Kaycee Ollis and Macee Marcum each had two hits as well in three at bats. Marcum also drove in a run for MVNU.
The Trojans finished second in the tournament behind Indiana Wesleyan.
The Cougars’ 28 wins on the season is the most since 2003.
