EAST LANSING, Mich. – On Friday afternoon, the Trine University men's track and field team competed in the Spartan Open, hosted by Michigan State University. The Thunder were in action versus teams from all three levels of the NCAA as well as NAIA institutions.
The event was highlighted by four top-five finishes from Trine student-athletes and several other top-10 finishes. Andrew Cogswell was runner-up in the triple jump event at 12.05 meters (39' 6.50") and the 4x400-meter relay team placed second as well. The team of Evan Selby, Jake Gladieux, Ryan Smith and Aaron Pike completed the race with a time of 3:25.35.
As an individual, Gladieux was third overall in the 110-meter hurdle event with a time of 14.31 seconds. His 4x400-meter relay teammate Selby placed seventh in the same event at 15.22 seconds. The final top five finish of the day for the Thunder came from the 5000-meter run. Joseph Packard went 15:05.32 in the event to finish fourth overall while teammate Zach Brickler was just behind in eighth (15:14.21).
Ben Williams was the top scorer for Trine in three separate events at the Spartan Invitational. He was seventh in the 200-meter dash (22.66 seconds) while Greysen Spohn was also top-10 in eighth (22.76 seconds). In the long jump, Williams secured an eighth-place spot after tallying a score of 6.44 seconds (21' 1.50"). Austin Smith was tenth overall in the event at 6.31 meters (20' 8.50"). Last but not least, in the 100-meter dash, Williams had the fastest time on the team at 11.27 seconds, good for 12th.
Several field athletes finished top 10 for the Thunder on the day. In the javelin, Colton Wampler was seventh overall at 38.65 meters (126' 9.00") and Ethan Spahr was ninth at 36.95 meters (121' 2.00"). Theodore Samra and Jacob Barkey finished eighth (49.04 meters / 160' 10.00") and ninth (49.00 meters / 160' 9.00") in the hammer throw. Also placing ninth was Alexander Lewis in the shot put (14.12 meters / 46' 4.00"). A tenth-place finish was credited to Brandan Cross in the discus with a best toss of 40.55 meters (133' 0.00").
Up next, Trine competes in the Warrior Open at Indiana Tech on Friday, April 7.
