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North Manchester, IN — Nearly perfect conditions set the stage at Saturday’s Manchester College Spartan Classic, and the Goshen College men’s track team responded with several season best performances.
Goshen secured seven second-place finishes and a pair of third-place finishes at the four-team meet, a promising result according to head coach Rick Clark. Although no team scores were kept at the meet, Clark said he believed the day to be a tremendous precursor to next weekend’s Mid-Central Conference Championships.
“We had a great day of weather and some very good performances at the Spartan Classic Saturday,” Clark said. “We kind of viewed today as a warm-up for the Mid-Central Conference Championships next weekend, and although the meet was not team scored, we fared well.”
Leading the way for Goshen was a sophomore and a freshman, each notching personal bests in a quad of runner-up finishes. Sophomore Brent Handfield captured second place in both the long jump (20 feet, 2 and ½ inches) and the triple jump (40 feet, 5 and ¼ inches) while freshman Tyler Keller put forth career-best marks in both the 400-meter hurdles (:58.77) and the high jump (6 feet, 1 and ½ inches), finishing second in both events.
“Brent mustered up two second-place finishes in the jumps, and he’s been a strong point for us there all season,” Clark said. “Tyler had a very good meet with personal bests in both the high jump and the 400 hurdles.”
Off the track, junior Justin Hochstetler took a pair of second-place finishes, ending runner-up in both the discus (132 feet, 2 inches) and the javelin (143 feet, 10 inches). Sophomore Sam Boldman added another second-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles (:17.14), and finished third behind Keller in the high jump (5 feet, 10 inches). Freshman John Tamirat concluded Goshen’s top-three scorers, finishing third in the 400-meter dash in a time of :53.87.
Complete individual results and finishes from the Spartan Classic can be viewed by clicking here.
“Although we didn’t have any winners, we did have many season-best efforts,” Clark said. “That is important heading into the conference championships. This meet allowed us to get prepared for that championship meet in a low-key yet competitive meet. We feel better prepared now for next weekend’s competition.”
Goshen will next head to the MCC Championships, a meet that is scheduled to begin Friday afternoon and conclude Saturday. All events will take place at the track and field complex on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University.
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Junior Randy Keener