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2003 Season News

MAY 22-24 — Karanja Repeats As NAIA National Champion
Sophomore defends crown in 400-meter hurdles; Gillette becomes All-American in marathon


Championship form: Sophomore John Karanja breaks away from the field in winning his second consecutive NAIA National Championship in the 400-meter hurdles on Saturday.

Pulling away: Sophomore Justin Gillette settles into fourth place in the marathon Saturday morning. His time of 2:33.08 gave Gillette his first All-American finish.


Follow me: Junior Heidi Saunders was able to lead for much of her preliminary race, but couldn’t grab her fifth All-American award at this year’s outdoor nationals. She finished 10th in the 5,000-meter finals.


Record breaker: Senior Tricia Kurtz set a new school record in the steeplechase at the national competition, finishing her career off with a 12:01.39 pace in the event.

Olathe, KS — For the second consecutive year, Goshen sophomore John Karanja took the NAIA Outdoor Track And Field National Championship in the 400-meter hurdles competition, defending both his 2002 crown and his number one seeding heading into the championships this weekend. Even with the pressure firmly on him as the favorite, Kranja came up with his fastest time yet in this year’s final race, winning the championship in a time of :50.70, more than two-tenths of a second faster than second-place finisher Pat Brown of Oklahoma Baptist (:50.95).

“Winning a first title is hard, but it’s even more difficult to defend it,” said Lyle Miller, Goshen cross country coach, who made the trip to nationals in place of head track coach Rick Clark due to personal matters. “I was very impressed with how John was able to stay focused on what needed to be done.”

Karanja easily won the preliminary race on Friday and the semifinal on Saturday at the Olathe District Activity Center, despite a poor lane draw in the prelims. Starting in lane seven while lane eight was unoccupied, Karnaja could not see anyone else in the field. Despite not being able to get a feel for his competition, he took his prelim race without being pushed in :53.17. In the semifinal, Karnja picked it up a notch, running in a time of 52.19 from lane four to set up his national championship success.

In the final event, a few runners got out of the blocks quicker than Karanja, but he had caught them by the second hurdle and was clearly in the lead by the fifth. Karanja spaced a large gap between himself and the rest of the field midway through the race, but Brown made a push at the end to make it closer.

“In each race, there were one or two hurdles where John moved up on everyone else, primarily because he was able to maintain a consistent rhythm while they adjusted a bit,” Miller said. “John was clearly the best tactical hurdler in the group.”

Karanja took a hundredth of a second off his previous best time of :50.71, which he eclipsed at the Butler Twilight Meet just three weeks prior to the NAIA Nationals. That pace gave Karanja the number one seeding heading into the championships. He won the 2002 title in a time of :50.82.

Even with Karnja’s unparalleled success, Goshen was graced with yet another All-American performance, as sophomore Justin Gillette finished fourth in the men’s marathon in a time of 2:33.08. The All-American award was Gillette’s first (the top six athletes in each event are awarded with All-American honors), although the sophomore holds several Goshen school records in both track and cross country. Gillette’s effort at nationals greatly impressed his fall-sport coach, as he broke his personal best marathon time by a little over a minute.

“For the last year, Justin has made being an All-American one of his primary focuses, and it paid off,” Miller said. “He pushed the pace early on, and that might have hurt him a little, but it did break up the race between the contenders and the pretenders. I was very proud of the effort and focus he showed.”

After falling to 12th place early in the race, Gillette passed a large group and started to run with the first three runners for the remainder of the event. Though he led at the 15 mile-marker, Gillette settled into the fourth place position towards the end of the race, as the fifth-place runner was about 3:30 behind him. And though the fifth-place runner closed the gap and finished just 26 seconds behind him, Gillette’s fourth-place status was never in question.

Goshen’s women’s team was represented by junior Heidi Saunders in the 5,000-meter run and senior Tricia Kurtz and sophomore Melissa Lehman both competing in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. While honored to be making her third trip to outdoor national competition, Saunders could not add to her collection of four All-American honors, taking home a 10th-place finish in the 5,000-meter run. Saunders’ finals time of 18:24.85 was her best time on a track for the event, though not her best distance to be running.

“Heidi has primarily raced the 1,500 and 3,000 in past years, but the 3,000 was eliminated to make room for the steeplechase, and Heidi is still learning how to run 5,000 meters on the track,” Miller said. “ She's still gaining confidence in this race, but I was pleased with how she was able to maintain her focus.”

Kurtz was able to set a new school record in the steeplechase, finishing the preliminary race in a time of 12:01.39, nearly 17 seconds off her qualifying mark. Lehman finished her prelim heat in a 12:18.73 clip, just a tad slower than her qualifying mark of 12:18.05. And while neither Kurtz nor Lehman could advance to the finals in the event, they each moved up in their respective seeding: Kurtz entered national competition as the 34th-fastest time, and finished as the 21st. Similarly, Lehman came into the championships seeded 32nd, and finished 29th.

“I felt very good about both of their efforts,” Miller said. “The event is still new for them, and Tricia was able to go out in fine fashion in her last college race. Melissa also maintained her focus well throughout the race. More than any other race, it's difficult to maintain a consistent pace because of the water barriers, but both of them did pretty well in that regard.”

From a team perspective, Goshen finished with 15 points at the meet, giving the school a 20th-place finish in the country, easily the Leafs’ best ever finish. And while Kurtz is lost to graduation, Karanja, Gillette, Saunders and Lehman each have bright futures ahead in a Goshen uniform.

“We couldn’t be happier about how our individuals fared at nationals this year, or how the level of the program continues to rise,” said Clark.

For a complete list of all 2003 NAIA Outdoor Track And Field National Championships events and finishers, click here.

MAY 9— Goshen Adds One More Participant To Nationals Roster
Lehman qualifies in steeplechase at Dr. Keeler; Leafs will take five to NAIA national competition

Sophomore Melissa Lehman

Naperville, IL — With a keen sense for the dramatic, Goshen sophomore Melissa Lehman earned a ticket to the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Nationals at the last possible moment, qualifying in the steeplechase at the final meet of the season. Just missing the national qualifying times throughout the 2003 year in various long-distance running events, Lehman made good on Friday, running the steeplechase in a time of 12:18.05 which met the NAIA qualifying standard.

Lehman finished 12th in the event at the Dr. Keeler Invitational, a non-scored meet designed for athletes taking last shots at qualifying for national competition. Lehman is the fifth Goshen athlete that will participate in the 2003 NAIA Nationals, joining senior Tricia Kurtz in the same event, junior Heidi Saunders in the 5000-meter run, junior Justin Gillette in the marathon run and defending national champion John Karanja (sophomore) in the 400-meter hurdles.

Just seven Goshen athletes made the trip to the Dr. Keeler Invite, though Lehman was the only non-qualifier to achieve a national-qualifying mark. Freshman Michael Amos ran the 200-meter dash in a time of :22.84 while classmate Daniel Constantine finished the event in :23.71. The 4 X 400 relay team of Constantine, Amos, Karanja and junior Justin Wikerd clocked a time of 3:21.85 in that event, while Karanja also attended to tweak his 400-meter hurdle technique: He won the race in a time of :51.71. Kurtz also competed at the invite, finishing 14th in the steeplechase in a time of 12:26.85.

Goshen’s five national participants will fly out to Olathe, Kansas on Wednesday. Events will take place Thursday through Saturday at the Olathe District Activity Center. For a complete schedule of NAIA Outdoor National Championships events, click here. Check back to this web site for the most up-to-date information on the performances of Goshen’s athletes in national competition.

MAY 3 — Karanja Betters 2002 National Championship Time At Butler
Sophomore re-sets record in 400-meter hurdles; Saunders qualifies in steeplechase


Sophomore John Karanja


Junior Heidi Saunders

Indianapolis, IN — As if Goshen sophomore John Karanja didn’t already give opposing NAIA track teams around the country enough to worry about, he made things even more frightening this weekend.

Karanja, the 2002 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Champion in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles, broke his national championship time by over a tenth of a second at the Butler Twilight Meet Saturday, finishing the event in a time of :50.71. Karanja won the 2002 national title in a time of :50.82, as his time on Saturday was good enough to beat a field that contained several NCAA Division I runners.

“John ran an exceptional race on Saturday, beating all comers and running a quicker time than his winning pace in the finals at nationals last May,” said Rick Clark, Goshen head coach. “We felt he was ahead of where he was last year and this helps to give us an indicator of what he can hopefully accomplish at nationals in three weeks.”

Fifty-two men’s teams from all levels — NCAA Divisions I, II and III and NAIA schools — were represented at the meet on Saturday, and none could provide a faster runner in the 400-meter hurdle event than Karanja, who’s newest time ranks him first in the country at the NAIA level presently.

Goshen took only a partial team to the event in an effort to tune-up for NAIA national competition. Aside from Karanja’s breakout performance, Goshen’s appearance was highlighted by junior All-American Heidi Saunders’ finish in the steeplechase. Running the event for the first time at an intercollegiate meet, Saunders finished in a time of 12:13.83 setting a new Goshen school record and meeting the qualifying mark for NAIA national competition in the event as well.

“Heidi also performed very well as she broke her teammate (senior) Tricia Kurtz’s record by five seconds,” Clark said. “They have both now qualified for the steeple at nationals.”

Sophomore Melissa Lehman took home a fourth-place finish in the 10,000-meter run, completing the race in a time of 38:49.45. The men’s 4 X 400 relay team of Karanja, junior Justin Wikerd and freshmen Daniel Constantine and Michael Amos also ran a season-best time of 3:22.65 in the meet. That clip put the team in 10th place for the event.

Goshen will next travel to Bloomington for the Billy Hayes Meet on the campus of Indiana University on Saturday.

APR. 25-26 — Goshen Shines In MCC Championships
Men take fourth and women fifth with plenty of highlights in between



Quicks: Freshman Daniel Constantine competes in the 100-meter dash at the MCC Championships on Friday. He finished second in the event.

Keeping pace: Just four days after competing in the Boston Marathon, sophomore Justin Gillette placed fourth in the 10,000-meter race at the MCC Championships.


Spring-loaded: Freshman Dan Adcock takes fourth place in the triple jump at the MCC Championships on Friday.

Upland, IN — Track and field teams from all eight Mid-Central Collegiate Conference schools descended on the campus of Taylor University for the 2003 MCC Championships Friday and Saturday, turning the Trojans’ outdoor facility into a cornucopia of colors, mascots and school supporters. Over the two-day event, the Goshen men’s and women’s track teams did their best to stand out amongst the masses. When it was all said and done, Goshen head coach Rick Clark was overly pleased with his teams’ performances.

“We performed very well in terms of where we saw ourselves heading into the meet,” Clark said. “We had a very good team effort out of our men’s team and our women’s team finish is probably at the place where we should have been based on the number of injuries and the number of team members we had competing. In all, this was a great meet for our squad.”

Goshen’s men’s team captured a fourth-place team finish after an all-around effort, as even Clark could not pinpoint the reason for the team’s success.

“Our men’s team scored in every event in the meet but one, and in that event our athlete entered was injured and couldn’t compete,” Clark said. “We had so many athletes step up with season best marks that it is hard to only single out one or two.”

If anyone was going to single themselves out, however, it was sophomore John Karanja. The defending NAIA National Champion in the 400-meter hurdles event, Karanja made sure his title was protected, smoking the MCC field in a time of :52.46. That time made Karanja an MCC All-Conference performer as well as meeting the NAIA National Qualifying mark. His current time places him third in the nation with about a month left before national competition.

As Clark eluded, however, this meet was not just the John Karanja Show for Goshen. Freshman Daniel Constantine took second in the 100-meter dash (:11.31) and third in the 200-meter event (:22.97) after being injured and unable to practice hard for much of the past two weeks. Sophomore Justin Gillette took fourth place in the 10,000-meter run in a time of 32:46.89, coming just four days after he placed 123rd out of over 20,000 runners in the Boston Marathon on Monday. Senior Merlin Miller also finished up his MCC career in style, taking second in the steeplechase event in a time of 10:03.60.

“Merlin Miller had never placed in an individual event in the conference meet before and he turned in a great effort in the steeplechase,” Clark said. “Justin Gillette scored important points for us in the 10,000 and 5,000 meters (seventh place, 16:09.03). Needless to say, the coaching staff is very proud of the balanced, total team effort our men’s team turned in over the weekend.”

The standouts for the men’s squad didn’t end there. The 4 X 100 relay team of Karanja, Constantine, sophomore Louis Lissade and freshman Michael Amos took third in that event, finishing with a time of :43.25. The relay team of Karanja, Amos, junior Justin Wikerd and freshman Dan Adcock also took third in the 4 X 400 event, with a time of 3:23.78. Adcock finished fourth in the triple jump, leaping an ending 39 feet 8 inches. Freshman Don Williams was a fourth-place finisher in the high jump, clearing a height of 5 feet 10 inches. Junior Ben Reed cleared a height of 13 feet in the pole vault, while while freshman Matt Hochstetler took a sixth-place finish in the hammer throw (116 feet 10 inches), the top finisher for Goshen in a throwing competition.

Goshen’s 86.5 team points placed as the fourth highest total. Other team scores were: Taylor, 202 points; Bethel, 159 points; Indiana Wesleyan, 143 points; Huntington, 71.5 points; St. Francis, 61 points; Grace, 54 points and Marian, 34 points.

Goshen’s women’s team scored amazingly well with only nine athletes competing. Clark’s strategy was to concentrate his limited number of athletes, and the move paid off. Goshen’s 44 points finished the team in fifth place, ahead of Grace, Marian and St. Francis.

“We tried to focus on doing well in the events we were in, instead of trying to spread people out in so many events,” Clark said of his women’s team. “We had a number of standout performances in those events, which helped us score the way we did.”

Junior All-American Heidi Saunders again led the Leafs’ charge, as she took second place in the 5,000-meter event in a time of 18:30.84. Saunders has already qualified for the NAIA National Championships in that event, while teammate Tricia Kurtz (senior) finished fifth at the MCCs with a time of 19:16.45. Kurtz also set a new school record and qualified for national competition with her second place finish in the steeplechase, finishing in a time of 12:18.93.

“Tricia’s performance was a real highlight for us, as she dropped her school record in the steeplechase with a national qualifying mark and then came back to place in the 5k later,” Clark said.

Junior Ventisha Connolly took second in the hammer throw for the Leafs, hurling the object a distance of 119 feet 7 inches. That output gave Connolly a personal best by over 12 feet, pleasing Clark immensely.

“Ventisha has displayed some of the most improvement of anyone on the women’s team from last year,” Clark said. “Her effort in the hammer throw on Friday was exceptional, and we are very proud of her.”

Freshman Erin Williams placed fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of :17.05, while the “makeshift” 4 X 400 relay team of Williams, Saunders, junior Kelcie Glick and freshman Rachel Yantzi took home fifth place with a time of 4:18.91.

“Our 4 X 400 relay team ran very well for a team that was thrown together,” Clark said. “Their time would have been a school record just a few years ago.”

Complete women’s scores for the meet were: Indiana Wesleyan, 255.2 points; Bethel 193 points; Huntington, 145.2 points; Taylor 104.2 points; Grace 36.4 points; Marian, 27 points and St. Francis 2 points.

Goshen will next compete at the Butler Twilight Meet on Friday. That meet will take place on the campus of IUPUI in Indianapolis.

APR. 17 — Leafs Tune Up For MCC's At IWU Quad
Team slowly beginning to regain top form at right time of year

Freshman Dan Adcock


Junior Heidi Saunders

Marion, IN — Taking partial men’s and women’s teams to the IWU Quad Meet on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan Thursday, the Goshen track program used its final meet prior to the Mid-Central Collegiate Conference Championships as a major tune-up. According to Goshen head coach Rick Clark, his squads are beginning to re-attain the type of performances they need to be successful at the MCC Championships.

“We had several positives come out of today’s meet (at Indiana Wesleyan),” Clark said. “We had a great number of athletes set season best marks for themselves and we are finally beginning to heal up from a number of nagging injuries that have been holding up our progress. We wanted to use this meet as a tune up for the MCC Championships, and I think it was a well-used meet.”

Goshen was led by a couple members of its women’s squad, as junior Heidi Saunders finished first in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 18:28.70, good for the NAIA National qualifying mark as well. Saunders, who has been plagued by a reoccurring leg injury for much of the outdoor season, was able to pace her fastest time of the season by two tenths of a second Thursday. Junior Kelcie Glick raised the bar on her school record in the pole vault by clearing a mark of 8 feet, 8 inches at the IWU Quad. That height replaces her old record of 8 feet, 6 inches which she and freshman Erin Williams set earlier in the year. (Williams finished seventh at IWU, clearing a height of 7 feet, 8 inches.)

Saunders also took home second place in the 1,500-meter run in a time of 5:04.16, while junior Ventisha Connolly placed second in the hammer throw with a toss of 101-4 feet. She was also fifth in the discus recording a distance of 68 feet, 1 inch. Freshman Rachel Yantzi also participated in field events with strong performances, taking third in the hammer (98 feet, 2 inches) and sixth in the javelin (60 feet, 4 inches). Yantzi then went on to finish fifth in the 800-meter dash in a time of 2:36.39.

Williams took home a third-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of :17.11, while senior Tricia Kurtz was right behind Saunders in the 5,000-meter race, finishing second with a clip of 19:02.58. Sophomore Hope Nyce finished fifth in both the 100-meter dash (:14.38) and the 200-meter sprint (:29.92) while the 4 X 200 relay team of Glick, Williams, Yantzi and sophomore Melissa Lehman finished fifth with a time of 1:59.39.

The 4 X 200 relay was even more impressive on the men’s side, as the team of sophomore Louis Lissade and freshmen Dan Adock, Michael Amos and Daniel Constantine finished first at the meet with a time of 1:33.88. Adcock was also first in the triple-jump with a distance of 39 feet, 1 inch and recorded a fourth-place finish in the long jump (18 feet, 10 inches). Freshman Don Williams took home a third-place result in the high jump (5 feet, 11 inches) while sophomore Tolu Kayode finished third in both the hammer throw (104 feet, 3 inches) and the discus (113 feet, 9 inches) and finished fourth in the shot put (37 feet, 7 inches). Sophomore Daniel Stowe placed fourth in the javelin with a distance of 125 feet, 10 inches.

Constantine paced the team in the short sprint category, finishing third in the 100-meter race (:11.37) and fourth in the 200-meter event (:22.71). Amos finished fifth in the 500-meter race (:51.95) and sophomore Mark Albrecht took home sixth in the 800-meter event with a time of 2:12.72. Senior Marten Beels finished fourth in the 5,000-meter run (16:36.00) while freshman Don Williams took third in the 110-meter high hurdles (:16.13).

Goshen will next compete in the MCC Championships on Friday and Saturday. The games will now take place at Taylor University.

APR. 12 — Injuries Hamper Team's Effort At Little State Championships
Men take home 17th-place team finish while women collect 18th


Freshman Erin Williams

Marion, IN — While operating at less than full strength, the Goshen track teams found making any type of team progress difficult at the Little State Championships on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan Saturday. Goshen’s men’s team took an 17th-place finish while the women’s team could only come up with an 18th-place mark, leaving head coach Rick Clark eager for better outcomes in the future.

“Although we have some individuals performing well, we have been plagued by too many injuries lately to put on a good team performance,” Clark said. “We either had to put out several athletes from competition or in some cases they couldn’t finish races because of their injuries.”

Goshen’s top two runners on each of its teams — sophomore national champion John Karanja and junior All-American Heidi Saunders — both fell victim to reoccurring injuries on Saturday. Karanja could not finish the 400-meter intermediate hurdle race, while Saunders was pulled out of the 5,000-meter run with a nagging leg injury.

The Leafs did benefit from a strong performance turned in by its 4 X 400 men’s relay team, as the squad took a fifth-place finish with a time of 3:29.24. Freshman Dan Adcock replaced Karanja in the event, and joined the usual combination of junior Justin Wikerd and freshmen Michael Amos and Daniel Constantine. The 4 X 100 relay team of Karanja, Constantine, junior Ben Reed and freshman Louis Lissade was able to take an eighth-place finish in a time of :44.47. Freshman Don Williams also finished eighth in the high jump (5 feet, 10 inches), while Reed did the same in the pole vault (13 feet).

Freshman Erin Williams led the women’s effort, tying the Goshen school record in the pole vault at 8 feet, 6 inches. The mark was good enough for a seventh-place finish on Saturday, and ties junior and current teammate Kelcie Glick’s record.

Goshen will return to Indiana Wesleyan Thursday to take part in the IWU Quad Meet. This is a late addition to the schedule.

APR. 5 — Track Teams Compete at Anderson University
Women take fourth place; men place sixth


Junior Kelcie Glick


Sophomore John Karanja

Anderson, IN – The men and women’s track team competed wholeheartedly despite the weather at the Runner’s Forum Invite on Saturday. The women placed fourth with 63 points just behind conference opponent Grace who earned 88 points. The men took sixth place with a score of 45.5 following Earlham’s 59.5 points.

For the women, junior Kelcie Glick received first place honors and a personal best at a height of 8’6” with Erin Williams coming in close behind in second with a height of 8’0”. Freshman Rachel Yantzi placed second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:34.5. Junior Charity Brubaker took fifth place in the event with a time of 2:35.1. Sophomore Hope Nyce took third and fourth place in the 200-meter and 100-meter dash with times of :30.7 and :14.69 respectively. In the 5000-meter run sophomore Melissa Lehman took received fourth place with a time of 19:01.0 with senior Tricia Kurtz close behind in fifth place with a time of 19:26.3. Kurtz also placed fifth in the 1500-meter run (5:16.4).

In women’s field events, Yantzi placed fourth in the hammer throw with junior Ventisha Conolly in fifth. Conolly also placed fifth in the shot put and received fourth in the discus throw.

To highlight the men’s individual events, sophomore John Karanja was first in the 400-meter hurdles with a national qualifying time of :53.73. Karanja also placed fifth in the 100-meter dash (11.59). In the 5,000-meter run, Goshen captured third, fourth and fifth places with sophomore Justin Gillette (16:09.5), senior Merlin Miller (16:22.0), and senior Marten Beels (16:27.9). Freshman Don Williams placed sixth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.62 while junior Justin Wikerd placed third (2:01.6) in the 800-meter run.

The men’s 4x100-meter relay team consisting of Reed, Freshmen Daniel Constantine and Michael Amos, and Karanja took fifth place with a time of :44.76 seconds.

The men also placed well in field events. Williams jumped a mark of 6’0 to receive third place in the high jump. Junior Ben Reed captured fourth place in the pole vault with a height of 12’0”. Freshmen Constantine and Daniel Adcock took sixth place respectively in the long jump and the triple jump.

Women’s team scores included first place Anderson with 183 points, Earlham (105), Grace (88), Goshen (63), Hanover (48), St. Francis (16), and Rose-Hulman (5).

Men’s team results were Anderson with 163, Rose-Hulman (91), Vincennes (89), Grace (65), Earlham (59.5), Goshen (45.5), St. Francis (37), and Hanover (18).

The Leafs next meet will be the Little State Championships at Marion, IN on Saturday, April 12.

MAR. 30— Sub-Freezing Temperatures Don't Hamper Goshen Invite

Meet goes on as Leafs take second in both men's and women's team scores


Track record: Sophomore national champion John Karanja competes in the 400-meter hurdles at Saturday’s Goshen Invitational. Karanja set a new track record and again qualified for nationals with his time of :54.01.

Staying warm: Junior Charity Brubaker fends off the competition in the 800-meter run Saturday. Brubaker finished third in the event.


Slicing wind: Sophomore Tolu Kayode attempts to pierce Saturday’s howling winds in the javelin competiton. Athletes had to battle stiff winds and temperatures in the 30s all day long.

Goshen, IN — Goshen’s lone regular-season outdoor track meet went off as planned Saturday, although the conditions couldn’t have been much worse. Twenty-five mile-per-hour winds and temps in the low 30s made the Goshen Invitational an arctic one, as athletes began to see snow flurries midway through the afternoon. Even with the poor environment, the Leafs turned in several outstanding individual performances in just the team’s second outdoor event of the year.

“It was nice to have a home meet and we appreciate all of the people who came out to help with the meet and offer support to the athletes,” said Rick Clark, Goshen head coach. “The most disappointing thing is that we had to compete in cold conditions for the second week in a row and that can take a toll on team performance and health related difficulties. Hopefully we will begin to see a turn around in the weather soon.”

On the men’s slate, Goshen was led on the day by defending national champion John Karanja (sophomore), who set a new Eigsti track record in the 400-meter hurdles. Karanja’s time of :54.01 was good for first place at the meet and also qualified him for NAIA Outdoor Nationals competition, giving him a chance to defend his current crown.

Freshman Daniel Constantine also ran very well in the cold, winning the 200-meter sprint in a time of :23.28 setting a new track record as well. Constantine also finished second in the long jump (20-1.5 feet) and fourth in the 100-meter dash (:11.51).

“Daniel had a very good meet for us in all three of those events,” Clark said. “He is starting to run well even in poorer conditions.”

Other men’s highlights included freshman Dan Adcock’s win in the triple jump (37-1.25 feet) and senior Merlin Miller winning the steeplechase (10:29.56). Freshman Don Williams took home the first place ribbon in the high hurdles competition, finishing the event in :16.49.

As a team, Goshen finished second (172 points) behind Bethel’s 208 points. St. Francis finished third (97 points) while Grace tallied a fourth-place finish (73 points).

“We came away a little disappointed because we felt we could win the team title but we did not have a sharp meet in some areas,” Clark said. “For the second week we have made some mistakes that will need to be corrected before the MCC meet for us to be competitive as a team. Because of the number of new team members this season, we are still seeking an identity for ourselves and need some solid leadership to take hold.”

Goshen’s women’s team also finished in second place, finishing with 114 points behind Bethel’s 315 points. Grace scored 69 for third-place honors while St. Francis tallied 25. This performance was minus several key runners, including All-American junior Heidi Saunders, who sat the meet out to nurse an injury.

“The woman's team performed close to where we thought we could, especially considering we are suffering presently with a number of injuries and a bit of illness within the team,” Clark said.

Top performances from the women’s side were turned in by senior Tricia Kurtz and freshman Erin Williams. Kurtz took second in the steeplechase in a time of 12:28.51, good enough to qualify her for the NAIA Outdoor Nationals. The time was also a new Eigsti track record. Williams won the pole vault competition (clearing a height of 8 feet) while placing second in the 100-meter hurdles (:18.29).

“It was great to see Tricia qualify for the nationals as a senior, because she has never qualified before,” Clark said. “Erin Williams also had a particularly strong meet for us.”

Sophomore Melissa Lehman took home second place in the 5,000-meter run, finishing with a time of 19:38.52. Lehman was also a member of Goshen’s winning 4 X 800 relay team, as the team finished in a time of 10:40.31. Other members of the team included junior Charity Brubaker, sophomore Rebekah Henn and freshman Rachel Yantzi. Yantzi also won the hammer throw (91-7 feet) and finished second in the 400-meter hurdles (:77.47).

Goshen will next compete in the Runner’s Forum Invite at Anderson University on Saturday.

MAR. 22 — Leafs Open Outdoor Season At Dick Small Invite
Squad learns about self, boast several good performances at first oudside meet of year