By Nick Van Heest | Echo
The Taylor women's track and field team gave their all at the Crossroads League Championship last weekend at Huntington University, and when the dust settled, the Trojans were crowned victors for the first time since 1995.
"Every point was critical, everybody did what they could do," said head coach Ted Bowers, who will end his coaching career on top. "This win is a testament to the women and their determination."
"It was good to be able to prove that Taylor track and field is a championship team, and we hope to make this a tradition for years to come," said freshman Katie DeHaan.
Heading into the 4x400 meter relay, the final event of the meet, Taylor held a slender half-point lead over Bethel College. However, clutch performances by senior Emily Perschbacher, junior Erin Price, sophomore Kehlay Dunah and DeHaan ensured the Trojans a first-place finish in 3:58.60, sealing the conference title.
"The greatest feeling was watching Katie bring the baton across the finish line and knowing we had won the meet," Dunah said. "The rest of the meet was filled with hugs, tears and the sense of accomplishment after all our hard work."
Taylor racked up 202 points during the two-day meet, beating Bethel by 4.5 points.
Senior Henrietta Carey set the tone with victories in the 100 and 200 meter dashes, recording times of 12.19 and 25.09, respectively.
DeHaan and Dunah finished 1-2 in the 400 meters, DeHaan winning in 58.44. In the 400 meter hurdles, Price claimed first with a time of 1:04.13, while sophomore Elaine Schmeltz won the steeplechase in 11:42.69.
"The key was to stay focused," Price said. "I was pretty tired after my other two events because I was in the sun all day, so my goal wasn't to break records, but to finish the race well to get points for the team."
One key to Schmeltz's victory was the support of her teammates.
"Having my teammates spread out around the track encouraging and supporting me throughout the entire race helped a lot," Schmeltz said.
The 4x100 team of Carey, Dunah, and freshmen Angel Cartwright and Princess Sakeuh concluded the Trojans' wins on the track, taking first in 47.86.
In the field, freshman Haley White claimed first in the javelin throw with a heave of 36.57 meters.
The women's team had 12 members named All-League performers after placing top three in their respective events.
The team is quick to attribute depth as a key factor to winning the title.
"Six years ago we only had 11-13 girls on the team, now we have 33," Bowers said. "We have steadily grown the last five years, and now our team is deep enough to compete at any meet."
Price agreed.
"The little things mattered. All the girls stepped up, especially the distance girls. They raced in so many mile-heavy events; they're amazing," Price said.
Dunah ascribed the team's motivation as another factor.
"We wanted to do well for ourselves, for each other, and for coach in his last year with us. Most of all, we wanted to do well for God," Dunah said.The Taylor men's track and field team placed third at the Crossroads League Championships, their 147 points falling short of Indiana Wesleyan's 173.5 and Bethel's 148.5.
Sophomore Brandan Wilchcombe won first in the 100 meter dash in 11.17, while placing second in the 200 (22.08) and the 110 meter hurdles (14.85).
Junior Jeremy Cutshaw claimed the triple jump for Taylor, posting a distance of 13.13 meters, while sophomore Kenny Higgins placed second in the hammer throw (48.08 meters), sophomore Ethan Evans in the 5000 meters (15:25.73) and junior Cerio Rolle in the 800 (1:54.33).
Evans also finished second in the 10K in 32:35.35 while senior Corbin Slater snared second in the javelin throw with a toss of 52.25 meters.
The men's team had 13 athletes named as All-League performers.
Next up for the Trojans is the Taylor Invitational, which begins this Saturday at 12:00 p.m. at the George Glass Track and Field Complex.
