LOUISVILLE, Ky. and Marion, Ind. – The Vincennes University Indoor Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams decided to adopt a strategy of divide and conquer this past weekend, with men’s sprinters and field athletes heading to Louisville for the PNC Bellarmine Classic Friday and men’s and women’s distance runners taking part in the Indiana Wesleyan University Midwest Classic in Marion on Saturday.
The Trailblazers added more National qualifiers over the weekend and look to be really close to adding a few more as the Indoor season continues.
Friday, members of the VU men’s team headed back to Louisville, Ky. to take part in the PNC Bellarmine Classic and once again found some very tough competition, competing against 16 NCAA Division I programs.
The Trailblazers were led by an outstanding day by sophomore Olegs Kozjakovs, who placed sixth in the pole vault after clearing a height of 4.75 meters, surpassing the NJCAA National qualifying standard.
Sophomore Cohen Gallant and freshman Olamipo Ladipo took part in the 60 meter dash, with Gallant placing 16th with a time of 7.06 seconds and Ladipo right behind him in 17th at 7.08 seconds.
Gallant would then compete in the 200 meter race, finishing 46th with a time of 23.51 seconds, while Ladipo placed 22nd in the 400 meters with a time of 50.67 seconds.
Sophomore Matthew Gray (Washington, Ind.) led a number of VU runners in the 800 meter race, placing 39th overall with a time of 2:03.97
Gray was joined by freshmen Nathan Whitehead (Vincennes, Ind.) and Alex Kwizera (Indianapolis, Ind.) in the 800 meters, with Whitehead placing 48th at 2:10.28 and Kwizera placing 54th at 2:16.99.
In the men’s throwing events, freshman Jacob Wickman placed 21st in the shot put with a throw of 12.46 meters and 28th in the weight throw with a toss of 11.62 meters.
