SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Competing against a large field of teams Saturday, the Kenyon College Ladies held their own in distance and field events during the Steemer Showcase, an unscored indoor track and field meet at Wittenberg University, while the men’s team (Lords) found sledding a bit rougher.
For the second week in a row, the Ladies’ best individual finish came from first-year Paula Soric, who won the triple jump with a measurement of 35-10 ¾ (10.94 meters). Last week, at the College of Wooster, Soric set the Kenyon record in the event at 36-9 (11.13 meters). Saturday at Wittenberg, Soric also turned in a 10th-place finish in the long jump at 15-11 ¾ (4.87 meters). She finished a few spots ahead of junior teammate Erika Conant, who placed 13th with a jump of 15-7 ½ (4.76 meters).
Also faring well in field events for Kenyon was junior Eras Yager and senior Anna Barrett. Yager claimed 14th place in the shot put with a measurement of 33-3 ¾ (10.15 meters). Barrett, meanwhile, took 16th place in the high jump, clearing the bar at 4-6 ¼ (1.38 meters).
On the track, the Ladies’ best times came in the distance events. Leading the way in that category was senior Emma Becker, who finished fifth in the 3,000-meter race, clocking in at 10:51.37. Not too far behind her was fellow senior Katarina Yepez, who took 15th place with a time of 11:23.29.
The Ladies also received a couple of ninth-place finishes from Ella Wilson and Lorien Kauffman. Wilson, a junior, claimed that spot in the 5,000-meter race, which she completed in 19:06.76. Kauffman, a sophomore, did so in the 800-meter run. She finished the event in 2:31.71, ahead of teammates Cecily King and Jada Swearingen, who ended up in 14th place (2:41.77) and 16th place (2:45.61), respectively.
On the men’s side, the Lords posted seven top-25 finishes in the unscored Steemer Showcase after competing against tough Division I and Division III opponents.
First-year Riley Orth continued to perform well. Orth finished fifth in the shot put with a personal-best throw of 47-3 ¾ (14.42).
On the track, Tapiwa Gono Phiri finished ninth in the 60-meter dash preliminaries with a time of 7.146 seconds. University of Mount Union’s Aidan Malloy (7.144) barely edged out Gono Phiri for the final spot in the finals. Gono Phiri returned to the track later in the meet to finish eighth in the 200-meter dash (23.01).
In the 400-meter dash, Angus Soderdberg finished 21st overall with a time of 52.96. The Lords placed three runners in the top-25 in the 3,000-meter run as Peter Bernhardt finished ninth (9:15.04), Samuel Rabieh finished 16th (9:36.32), and Jack Burczak finished 19th (9:39.41).
Kenyon finished the meet with an 11th-place finish in the 1,600-meter relay with a time of 3:32.51.
