Lincoln Reed | Echo
The Taylor indoor track and field teams showed grit at the Anderson Invitational on Saturday as the women's team finished first and the men took fourth.
"We fought hard for every second, every jump and every throw that we competed in this past weekend," said head coach David Neville.
The women's team featured many individual victories that contributed to the team's success.
Senior Elaine Schmeltz was named the Crossroads League Athlete of the Week for her performance on Saturday. Schmeltz ran an electric 10:25.75 to capture first place in the 3,000 meter dash. Freshman Alex Berends clinched second place in 10:38.17, and junior Anissa Richards secured fourth place with a time of 10:54.21. Schmeltz's first place finish qualified her for the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships in March.
Neville credits Schmeltz's attitude and leadership as crucial components of the team's success.
"She continues to run with a lot of heart, drive and determination," Neville said. "We're going to go out there and fight for every single second that we can knock off our times, and that is what she is doing. She's helping lead this team and gives them good direction on finding the drive and determination that we need from our athletes."
Schmeltz joined Berends and juniors Sarina Oleson and Courtney Thompson to take first place in the distance medley relay (DMR). The Trojans dominated the competition by finishing with a lead of nearly 45 seconds. Their time of 12:24.02 qualified them for the NAIA Indoor Track and Field National Championships.
"I was really excited going into the DMR," Schmeltz said. "We were all excited to run because that was our first time racing it. We were excited to . . . push ourselves to try and qualify, which we were able to do."
Senior Allison Steinbeck and sophomore Hannah Schroder dominated with first- and third-place finishes in the 5,000 meter run. The placements qualified both runners for the NAIA Indoor Track and Field National Championships.
Other victories included junior Jane Hawks's 3:08.49 finish in the 1,000 meter run and junior Princess Sakeuh's 8.00 seconds victory in the 60 meter dash.
Sophomore Matt Hall led the Taylor men's team, scorching the mile in 4:24.22 to secure first place. Freshman Joe Beamish finished close behind in fourth place at 4:43.70.
Senior Kenny Higgins' 16.04 meter toss earned him second place in the weighted throw competition while sophomore Tanner Dye secured a second place finish in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 8:59.62. The Trojans also took third place in the 4x400 relay as freshmen Nolan Sponseller and Kyle Shelton and juniors Eric Croft and Noah Clayton notched a time of 3:36.02.
Looking forward to the end of the indoor season, the Trojans look to curb injuries and finish strong.
"We're hoping to end the season well and run a lot of (personal records)," Dye said.
Both teams head to Indiana University in Bloomington to compete in the Hoosier Invitational today and tomorrow.Photograph provided by Cam Andry
