Friday, February 13
Geneva, Ohio
2:00 PM
Michigan State University
at
SPIRE Invitational
Spartan Track & Field Competes at SPIRE and Grand Valley
2/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Feb. 14, 2015
SPIRE Invite Results
GVSU Results
GENEVA, Ohio - The Michigan State track and field teams were back in action on Friday afternoon at day one of the SPIRE Invitational in Geneva, Ohio. A total of 14 athletes competed for the Spartans in six events, with Michigan State earning two wins on the day.
Senior Drake Veitenheimer had the top individual performance on Friday with an MSU school-record time of 2:23.63 in the men's 1,000m. The team of Leah O'Connor, Tori Franklin, Aubrey Wilberding and Rachele Schulist also earned a win in the women's distance medley, clocking in with a time of 11:23.15.
"There were some good performances today in the men's and women's 1,000 and 5,000 meter races," said Michigan State Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Walt Drenth. "Alexis Wiersma ran extremely well in the 5,000, Drake [Veitenheimer] was unbelievable with his school record in the 1,000 and Nick Soter was solid as well.
"Overall though, I thought we lacked energy in some areas. We need to compete with more energy and a better sense of purpose, especially when we return here in two weeks for the Big Ten Championships."
Alexis Wiersma ran a time of 16:22.39 to finish sixth overall in the women's 5,000m run. She was followed by Shelby Jackson (16:41.97) and Melanie Brender (16:43.72) in seventh and eighth place, respectively. Nick Soter also competed in the men's 1,000m, finishing sixth overall with a time of 2:25.52. In the men's 5,000m, Alex Wilson clocked in with a time of 14:31.36 and placed seventh, followed by Ben Carruthers (14:34.32) in eighth overall.
MSU also sent individuals to Friday's Big Meet at Grand Valley State University. Senior Antonio James continued to build on his strong indoor season with a pair of wins in the shot put and weight throw, posting marks of 18.66m and 21.96m, respectively.
"I thought A.J. [Antonio James] was right where we need him to be. He was right around his season-bests with not a lot of rest in between throws," said Assistant Coach Blaine Maag. "We had a number of other PRs today and saw some kids take some big steps forward. I thought the energy and the atmosphere today were both really good in getting us prepared to go compete at Big Tens."
Personal-best throws for the Spartans included Cynthia Watt in the weight throw (19.54m), Riley Norman in the weight throw (19.23m), Katelyn Daniels in the shot put (14.85m) and Meg Goettsch in the shot put (13.64m) and the weight throw (17.70m).
Brooke Kovacic also recorded a personal-best in the 3,000m with a time of 9:58.27 to go along with new career-bests from Morgan Johnson in the long jump (5.48m) and Molly Walker in the high jump (1.62m).
The Spartans will return to competition tomorrow in the final day of the SPIRE Invitational. Day two events are scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. at the SPIRE Institure in Geneva.
GVSU Results
GENEVA, Ohio - The Michigan State track and field teams were back in action on Friday afternoon at day one of the SPIRE Invitational in Geneva, Ohio. A total of 14 athletes competed for the Spartans in six events, with Michigan State earning two wins on the day.
Senior Drake Veitenheimer had the top individual performance on Friday with an MSU school-record time of 2:23.63 in the men's 1,000m. The team of Leah O'Connor, Tori Franklin, Aubrey Wilberding and Rachele Schulist also earned a win in the women's distance medley, clocking in with a time of 11:23.15.
"There were some good performances today in the men's and women's 1,000 and 5,000 meter races," said Michigan State Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Walt Drenth. "Alexis Wiersma ran extremely well in the 5,000, Drake [Veitenheimer] was unbelievable with his school record in the 1,000 and Nick Soter was solid as well.
"Overall though, I thought we lacked energy in some areas. We need to compete with more energy and a better sense of purpose, especially when we return here in two weeks for the Big Ten Championships."
Alexis Wiersma ran a time of 16:22.39 to finish sixth overall in the women's 5,000m run. She was followed by Shelby Jackson (16:41.97) and Melanie Brender (16:43.72) in seventh and eighth place, respectively. Nick Soter also competed in the men's 1,000m, finishing sixth overall with a time of 2:25.52. In the men's 5,000m, Alex Wilson clocked in with a time of 14:31.36 and placed seventh, followed by Ben Carruthers (14:34.32) in eighth overall.
MSU also sent individuals to Friday's Big Meet at Grand Valley State University. Senior Antonio James continued to build on his strong indoor season with a pair of wins in the shot put and weight throw, posting marks of 18.66m and 21.96m, respectively.
"I thought A.J. [Antonio James] was right where we need him to be. He was right around his season-bests with not a lot of rest in between throws," said Assistant Coach Blaine Maag. "We had a number of other PRs today and saw some kids take some big steps forward. I thought the energy and the atmosphere today were both really good in getting us prepared to go compete at Big Tens."
Personal-best throws for the Spartans included Cynthia Watt in the weight throw (19.54m), Riley Norman in the weight throw (19.23m), Katelyn Daniels in the shot put (14.85m) and Meg Goettsch in the shot put (13.64m) and the weight throw (17.70m).
Brooke Kovacic also recorded a personal-best in the 3,000m with a time of 9:58.27 to go along with new career-bests from Morgan Johnson in the long jump (5.48m) and Molly Walker in the high jump (1.62m).
The Spartans will return to competition tomorrow in the final day of the SPIRE Invitational. Day two events are scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. at the SPIRE Institure in Geneva.
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and FieldThrows
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Multi-Events
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and FieldProcess Oriented | Spartans All-Access
Wednesday, April 02
Track & Field | Big Ten Outdoor Championship recap
Monday, May 13
Track & Field | Big Ten Outdoor Championships highlights
Saturday, May 11
Track & Field | Big Ten Outdoor Championships | Day 2
Saturday, May 11