The men’s and women’s track teams returned from a two week break and found themselves in Geneva, Ohio, for the Division II team challenge hosted by the University of Findlay.
The Bulldog women once again had an impressive outing. In the 21 team competition, FSU competed well enough to earn a fourth-place finish. The Bulldogs were led by senior All-American Tina Muir, who came in first in the 3,000 meter run.
“Finishing first in the 3k was a great confidence boost as we prepare for the bigger meets that are coming in the next few weeks,” Muir said. “I was able to race the way I wanted to and see how strong I am already.”
Muir broke FSU’s 3,000 meter school record (held by her) by nine seconds.
The Bulldogs had two more first-place finishes. Junior Zoey Hohmann came away with a win in the 400 meter dash. Also, the women’s distance medley relay posted a national qualifying mark with its first place finish and are currently second on the national performance list.
“Every single person on the team works hard and strives to make it to the next level,” Muir said. “It seems that nearly every meet people set personal records and break into the all-time top five performance list for Ferris which shows how much the team is constantly improving.”
Sophomore Jessica Pilling continued to build on her strong start in 2012 and finished with runner-up honors in the weight throw with a distance of 57 feet exactly. Two Junior Shelby Janutol came away with third in the mile run with a time of 5:05.41, and sophomore runner Brittany Anderson finished third in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 10:19.36.
“Considering this is the part of our season where most people are training the hardest as tiredness sets in, we were able to achieve some great results,” Muir said.
The Lady Bulldogs finished with a total of 54 points in the competition while the men earned ten on the other side.
The men’s side finished with a 19th-place finish led by Bulldog runners in the distance medley relay finishing with a time of 10:19.36, which put Ferris State University in an impressive third-place finish.
Bulldog junior Lucas Johnson had a weight throw of 53 feet and 8.25 inches, which landed him in sixth place overall. The other impressive performances were by junior Ryan Chute and freshman Spencer Gerber who both had top ten finishes in the mile run.
Chute finished the mile in a time of 4:19.47, which placed him in eighth, and Gerber was right behind him in ninth place with a time of 4:22.08.
Up next for the Bulldog runners is a trip to Grand Valley State University for the Big Meet on Feb. 10-11 in Allendale.