By John Tveter, sports writer
On a rainy Saturday, Pacific Lutheran University’s track and field athletes competed in their lone home meet of the season. The team’s opponents included Saint Martins, Western Washington, Central Washington, Puget Sound, and other small colleges and community colleges from around the area. Competing against a plethora of teams, the Lutes managed to win titles in seven events, along with 24 top-three finishes.
The Lutes’ track and field team has been highlighted in recent years by exceptional throwers and Saturday was no exception. On the men’s side, senior Kyle Peart and junior Tevon Stevens-Brown each placed in the top three in their respective events.
Peart won the men’s hammer throw, an event in which he advanced to the national meet last season, with a throw of 54.0 meters (177 feet, 2 inches). He also placed third in the shot put.
Stevens-Brown took third in the hammer, but won the men’s shot put with a 14.26 meter throw (46 feet, 9.5 inches). Senior Jackson Pierce took second in hammer for the Lutes as PLU swept the top-3 places in the hammer event.
Senior Jorgina Moore won the women’s hammer event with a throw of 48.77 meters (160 feet, 0 inches). Fellow senior Samantha Potter took third in the women’s discus with a 34.08 meter (111 feet, 10 inches) throw, an event that she advanced to the national meet in last year.
“It’s really tough to throw in driving rain,” Potter said. “You can’t hold onto the implements and you can slip in the ring. Even the people who won their events weren’t very happy because their throws didn’t go as far as they’d like.”
Senior I.V. Reeves put in an outstanding performance for the men on the track. He placed third in triple jump, fourth in long jump, third in the 100-meter dash, and was a part of the event-winning men’s 100 meter relay team. Reeves also helped the men’s 400 meter relay team earn a fifth place finish.
Other members of the men’s winning 100 meter relay included sophomore Marqui Makupson, first-year Richard Johnson, and sophomore Ignacio Ibarra, who all put in outstanding individual performances as well. Johnson won the men’s 100-meter dash with a time of 11.14 seconds, while Makupson took second with an 11.24 time. Ibarra won the men’s pole vault, clearing a 4.08 meter (13 feet, 4.5 inches) height.
Other high placers included sophomore Amanda Wilson, who placed fourth in both the women’s 200-meter dash and the 400-meter dash. Sophomore Madison Guscott took third in the women’s 400, junior Hannah Walton took fifth in the 100-meter hurdles, sophomore Madelyn Bernard placed second in the women’s long jump, junior Michelle Lloyd with third in the women’s javelin, sophomore Kalie Saathoff with a second place finish in women’s shot put, and finally first-year Haley Zepernick with a third place finish in women’s high jump. For the men, junior Alan Bell took third in the men’s 100-meter hurdles.
The Lutes return to action March 28 and 29 in the Peyton Scoring Meet hosted by the University of Puget Sound. A few athletes may also compete in the Oregon preview meet hosted by Oregon on March 22, but athletes must have a qualifying time, distance, or height, so it is unsure of who will be competing.
