April 5, 2010

RedStorm face stiff competition at Oliver Nikoloff Invitational

Cincinnati, OH --- The University of Rio Grande RedStorm men's and women's track and field teams faced a very tough field of competitors on Saturday at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational hosted by the University of Cincinnati. The women finished 15^th (out of 15 teams), scoring three points and the men's team was 16^th (out of 16) with three points.

On the men's side, junior Mike Green (Columbus, OH) scored in the long jump with a sixth place finish. He leaped a season-best 6.49m. Redshirt freshman Nick Wilson (Fleming, OH) nearly qualified for the NAIA National Meet in the 5,000-meter run. He finished ninth overall and just missed scoring. His time was 15:12.62. Freshman Jay Butler (Cincinnati, OH) also just missed out on points with a ninth-place finish in the long jump (6.40m). 

Junior Matthew Spencer (Pickerington, OH) finished 14^th in the 800-meter dash with a time of 1:58.48. He was 23^rd in the 1,500-meter run (4:08.32).

Senior Randy Cook (Logan, OH) was 17^th in the 400-meter dash (54.36). 

Other RedStorm men's results: freshman Chris Aldea (Grove City, OH), 22^nd in the 800 (2:00.61) and 34^th in the 1,500 (4:21.19); freshman Joe Taranto (Pickerington, OH), 25^th in the 1,500 (4:09.65) and sophomore Zane Miller, 33^rd in the 5,000 (16:47.38). 

"The competition was tough. It was a windy day, which had some effect. We had some good performances, seven PR's (personal records) and Nick Wilson nearly qualified for nationals in the 5,000," said Rio Grande head coach Bob Willey. "There were definitely some positives from the meet."

"We want to continue working toward our goal of peaking for the (Mid-South) conference meet," Willey added. 

Rio Grande will compete at the Miami Open next weekend (April 10).