Lincoln Reed | Echo
The Taylor track and field team ended league competition on a strong note with the women's team finishing third and the men's fourth in the Crossroads League Championships on Saturday.
The women's team earned five victories, securing its third place finish. Senior Elaine Schmeltz, recently named the Crossroads Athlete of the Week, led the Trojans by placing first in the 5,000 meter run and the steeplechase. Schmeltz logged a 18:36.06 first place finish in the 5,000 along with a 11:28.49 time in the steeplechase. This is the fourth consecutive year that Schmeltz has won the steeplechase event in the Crossroads League Championship.
"(I) was really excited to see her dominate the competition in that steeplechase," said head coach David Neville. "It wasn't like anybody was near her-she just ran away with it."
Other victories for the Trojans included a 4:40.32 finish for freshman Alex Berends in the 1,500 meter run and a 38.14 meter javelin toss for junior Haley White. This was White's third consecutive Crossroads League Championship victory in the javelin toss.
The Taylor men's team earned a fourth place finish with several standout performances. Sophomore Matt Hall put in some great work on Saturday that included a 3:58.04 victory in the 1,500 meter and a 15:01.22 first place finish in the 5,000 meter.
"I knew both of the races would be tough," Hall said. "I haven't done that double before, the 1,500 followed by the 5,000. I had confidence and knew that I was going to try my best and glorify the Lord by doing it."
Neville raved about Hall's dramatic race in the 1,500 to beat out a rival runner from Marian University.
"For me it was really exciting to watch him go toe to toe with that guy for about 300 meters straight and he was the better guy," Neville said.
Senior Kenny Higgins contributed to the Trojans' efforts on Saturday with a 47.95 meter hammer toss. Senior Ethan Evans earned a third place finish in the 10,000 meter run with a time of 31:54.36.
Taylor's 4x800 relay team of junior David Rodman, junior Schalk Van Niekerk, senior Jared Reed and freshman Kyle Shelton combined for a fourth place finish. Their time of 7:48.65 qualified the relay team for NAIA nationals.
The men's and women's teams look to continue their season with North Central Invitational on May 7-8.Photograph by Chris Yingling
