Saturday, January 23
Bloomington, Ind.
All Day
Michigan State University
at
Gladstein Invitational (IU, UM, Northwestern, OSU)
Trevor Stephenson Captures Pole Vault Title at Gladstein Invitational
1/23/2021 6:25:00 PM | Track and Field
The Spartans sent a limited squad to Bloomington.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Junior Trevor Stephenson led the Michigan State track & field team with a pole vault event win Saturday at the Gladstein Invitational in Bloomington, Indiana. The Spartans had a select number of athletes compete, featuring pole vaulters and distance runners.
Michigan State competed against athletes from host Indiana, Michigan and Purdue.
Stephenson medaled for the second-straight week after finishing second in the pole vault last week at the Simmons-Harvey Invitational. He finished first, clearing a season-best height of 5.10m. His vault currently ranks first in the Big Ten this season.
On the women's side, the Spartans had a pair of pole vaulters in action. Junior Sophia Franklin finished second with a vault of 3.92m, just behind Indiana's Anna Watson (4.07m). Junior Calli Ostapowicz finished fourth, clearing 3.77m.
"I was happy with how today went. Today the pole vaulters did a good job of staying focused and competing. I am proud of how the group keeps making progress each and every week," MSU assistant track & field coach Ceith Creekmur said.
Sophomore James Uhlenberg shattered his personal best in the 3,000m with a time of 8:02.58. His previous best was 8:23.55 at the Music City Challenge last season. Uhlenberg finished third behind Indiana's Ben Veatch and Kyle Mau, who was running unattached. Freshman Brendan Favazza finished fourth with an impressive MSU debut, clocking in with a time of 8:07.66. In their Spartan debuts, Andrew Nolan and Alexander Penski ran in the second heat of the 3,000m. Nolan (8:34.72) and Penski (8:36.88) finished 10th and 12th, respectively.
"I thought the distance men we brought down here this weekend were outstanding. They've had to deal with a number of interruptions in their training with us the past few weeks because of the pandemic and to come out and race the way they did despite missing some practices was fantastic," Assistant Cross Country/Track & Field coach Aaron Simoneau said. "Both James and Brendan were in the first section, which was being paced from the gun to run fast, and they did a nice job of being patient and just focusing on competing. James ran a big personal best, and Brenden's time is excellent for a true freshman in his first turn on the track. Alex and Andrew's heat was quite a bit more tactical, going out in a very conservative pace for the first half, but they did a great job of engaging and competed really well in the last 1,000 meters. We saw this weekend as an opportunity for this group to get a competitive effort in before the cross country conference meet next weekend, and I was very happy with the way they raced."
The MSU's indoor track & field team will return to Ann Arbor with a selected group taking part in the B1G Multis on Jan. 29.
The Michigan State cross country team will also be in action traveling to Shelbyville, Indiana for the Big Ten Championships on Jan. 30.
Michigan State competed against athletes from host Indiana, Michigan and Purdue.
Stephenson medaled for the second-straight week after finishing second in the pole vault last week at the Simmons-Harvey Invitational. He finished first, clearing a season-best height of 5.10m. His vault currently ranks first in the Big Ten this season.
On the women's side, the Spartans had a pair of pole vaulters in action. Junior Sophia Franklin finished second with a vault of 3.92m, just behind Indiana's Anna Watson (4.07m). Junior Calli Ostapowicz finished fourth, clearing 3.77m.
"I was happy with how today went. Today the pole vaulters did a good job of staying focused and competing. I am proud of how the group keeps making progress each and every week," MSU assistant track & field coach Ceith Creekmur said.
Sophomore James Uhlenberg shattered his personal best in the 3,000m with a time of 8:02.58. His previous best was 8:23.55 at the Music City Challenge last season. Uhlenberg finished third behind Indiana's Ben Veatch and Kyle Mau, who was running unattached. Freshman Brendan Favazza finished fourth with an impressive MSU debut, clocking in with a time of 8:07.66. In their Spartan debuts, Andrew Nolan and Alexander Penski ran in the second heat of the 3,000m. Nolan (8:34.72) and Penski (8:36.88) finished 10th and 12th, respectively.
"I thought the distance men we brought down here this weekend were outstanding. They've had to deal with a number of interruptions in their training with us the past few weeks because of the pandemic and to come out and race the way they did despite missing some practices was fantastic," Assistant Cross Country/Track & Field coach Aaron Simoneau said. "Both James and Brendan were in the first section, which was being paced from the gun to run fast, and they did a nice job of being patient and just focusing on competing. James ran a big personal best, and Brenden's time is excellent for a true freshman in his first turn on the track. Alex and Andrew's heat was quite a bit more tactical, going out in a very conservative pace for the first half, but they did a great job of engaging and competed really well in the last 1,000 meters. We saw this weekend as an opportunity for this group to get a competitive effort in before the cross country conference meet next weekend, and I was very happy with the way they raced."
The MSU's indoor track & field team will return to Ann Arbor with a selected group taking part in the B1G Multis on Jan. 29.
The Michigan State cross country team will also be in action traveling to Shelbyville, Indiana for the Big Ten Championships on Jan. 30.
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Track and Field
Hurdles/Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ 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