By Bryan DeArdo
The Capital University men’s and women’s track and field squads have enjoyed a successful indoor season heading into the Ohio Athletic Conference Indoor track and field championships on Friday and Saturday at the Capital Center.
Both the men’s and women’s squads have showcased strong showings in every event this season, most notably the women’s 4X200 meter relay team that broke the NCAA Division III Collegiate record for the State of Ohio with a time of 1:43.88 run at the Rick Meindl Last Call meet.
The unit consists of senior Lizzy Stanton (Cincinnati, Ohio/Withrow HS), juniors Jessica Starks (Akron, Ohio/Akron East HS) and Brittany Carter (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South HS), and freshman Kwesi Seabrook (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade Julienne HS).
The group’s catalyst is Stanton who has been tabbed as the OAC Women’s Field Performer of the Week three times this season.
“This relay team is the fastest in Ohio collegiate history right now, which is a big deal for us,” said Stanton, who, besides her work on the 4X200 squad, has earned a provisional NCAA qualifying mark in the long jump (17-10.25 feet), and hitting an OAC “A” qualifying mark in the triple jump (35-02.00’).
“At the All-Ohio meet, the women’s side took third place, which is the best standing in this school’s history. That showed that we have quality athletes here.”
Stanton has embraced her position as a leader, captain, and mentor to her younger teammates.
“As a senior, it’s great to see incoming freshmen like Kwesi come in and do so well. She broke our 400 record (with a time of 58.94 seconds) and has the best time in the OAC this season so far. Jessica (Starks) is a National qualifier in the 60-meter dash (7.73 seconds). To know that people are here to carry on what I’ve been apart of when I leave is a special thing to see.”
Freshmen Sarah Trick (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe HS) has been no treat for opponents, as she leads the Crusader distance women in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:23.
“It’s been fun coming to college and making an impact right away on a team,” Trick said. “The biggest difference between college and high school track is the dedication that we all share here on this level. The friends and coaches I’ve met has been the best part of the experience this year.”
Trick, who was consistently one of the top members of the women’s cross country team this past Fall, has her sights on achieving both team and individual goals for this upcoming weekend. “I want our distance events to be up there competing at the front of the pack with every other team,” Trick said. “My personal goal is to get to where I was a year ago in terms of my 800 time and keep getting lower times from there.”
The mid-distance men are spearheaded by senior Joe Miceli (Newark, Ohio/Newark Catholic HS), who earlier this season made the 800-meter run school record his own by running a 1:58.80.
“I’m glad that my time has come down compared to previous years. I’m surprised I was able get that time during the indoor season, which hopefully will carry over the outdoor season,” said Miceli, who also is a member of the school’s 4X400 team.”
Miceli credits some of his indoor success to some of the outdoor running he did as a varsity member of the men’s cross country team this past Fall. A member of the varsity squad that competed in the men’s Great Lakes Regional Final this past Fall, Miceli says that the longer-distance running helped condition himself for indoor track.
“It normally takes me until mid-February to get in good shape, but because of the running I did with cross country, I was able to come in much earlier in the kind of shape I wanted to be in. (Running cross country) was hard, but definitely worth it,” Miceli said. “Hopefully, the extra running and staying healthy will help me achieve my goal of making it to nationals in either indoor or outdoor season.”
Another major cog on the men’s side has been Cory Trump (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson HS). The sophomore trumped the previous school record in high jump with a mark of 6’08 inches, which is an NCAA Provisional Qualifying height.
“Being consistent in my training and jumping during meets has really helped my progress this year,” Trump said. “My current goal is to jump a 6’10”, and then keep going up from there. I’d like to place in the top eight at nationals next weekend, and do the same thing during the outdoor season.”