The Davidson track team headed to Chapel Hill for the Carolina Invitational Friday February 12. The blue and white indoor track and facility were crowded with spectators and competing athletes. The competition included Campbell, Duke, East Carolina, High Point, NC State, UNC and The Citadel.
Again the Wildcats’ distance squad led the way with Tom Divinnie ’10 crushing his own mile record, finishing in 4:15.48. Each time Divinnie has raced this season he has managed to break another Davidson record.
The mile race at UNC finished in an all out sprint to the line, where two High Point runners beat Divinnie by .53 and .07 seconds, but Divinnie still held on to an impressive third place finish. Blake Evitt ’10 and Ryan Hopkins ’12 placed 15th and 16th in the men’s mile, finishing in 4:26.24 and 4:27.08, respectively.
Charlie Schmitt ’11 and Demetrios Pagonis ’13 both ran excellent races, holding spots in the top of the heat for most of the race. Both placed in the top ten of the men’s 3000 meter run, with Schmitt coming in fourth with a time of 8:47.64 and Pagonis placing sixth at 8:49.48.
Wes Reynolds ’13 had an amazing race, placing first in his heat and 16th over all with a time of 9:03.25. Peter Bruton ’10 raced a remarkable 800 with a time of 1:58.57, placing 11th in the meet and moving him into Davidson’s top-10 performers list for the indoor 800 meters.
For the sprints, Bryce Jones ’11 finished his 200 meters at 23.55, followed by Edwardo Vaca ’13 at 24.25. In the 400 meters, Taylor Martin ’12 ran a 52.48, impressive for his first race back from an injury. Melaku Teka ’11 also competed in the 400 meters finishing in 53.40. Marcus Haustein ’13 and Ethan Dunn ’11 both placed well in the long jump with jumps of 6.22 meters and 6.14 meters, respectively.
On the women’s side, Danielle Wright ’12 led the sprinters in the 200 meters finishing in 26.81 seconds. Jena Manilla ’13 and Ana Rodriegez ’12 both competed in the 400 meters; the race was Rodriguez’s college debut on the track. Caroline Gecker ’13 ran a solid 800 meters, finishing well in her heat at 2:31.58.
Cara Wilck ’13 also ran an impressive 800 placing third in her heat at 2:37.17. Sarah Cline ’11 raced for her first time back from an injury this weekend, with a great first mile finishing in 5:39. Haley Holway ’13 also went out hard in the mile, taking strong lead in her heat and finishing in 5:42.57.
Unfortunately, Natalie Atabek ’13 was unable to finish her mile, as she fell at the 800 meter mark and was unable to complete the race. Hopefully, she will be back and healthy to race at the Socon Indoor Championships at the end of February. Both Danielle Ruggeri ’11 and Heather Connaroe ’11 competed in the 3000 meters coming in at 10:56 and 11:03, respectively.
The Carolina invitational at UNC was the final meet before the SoCon Indoor Conference Championships, which will take place the Thursday and Friday before spring break, February 25-26, at Clemson.
Distance runners shine at Carolina Invitational
Published: Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Updated: Wednesday, February 17, 2010
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