VU men’s Indoor Track and Field posts team win as Capello breaks his own records

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Vincennes University Indoor Track and Field teams hit the road this past weekend and put together another strong performance at the Kentucky Collegiate Indoor Invitational in Louisville.

The Trailblazer men's team took home first place as a team over many four-year schools like Kentucky Wesleyan, Morehead State, Southern Indiana and Murray State.

VU finished with 78 points, 10 points higher than second-place Cumberland (Tenn.).

Sophomore pole vaulter Matteo Capello broke his own school and NJCAA records, reaching a height of 5.40 meters to take home first place spot.

Capello was not the only Blazer on the Pole Vaulting leaderboard, with Cole Sumner (4.35 meters), Matthew Frazier (4.00 meters) and Chase Knoblett (3.40 meters) all placing in the top seven.

Knoblett would also place third in the men's high jump, with a mark of 1.81 meters, as well as being a part of the men's 4x400 meter relay team that finished second with Walter Tanui, Damien Ross and Manamanya Opiew.

Anthony Campbell took home the top spot in two separate events. Finishing first in the high jump (2.01 meters) and long jump (6.78 meters).

Ryan Golliher represented the blue and gold well in the throwing events, placing second in the weight throw (16.29 meters) and fourth in the shot put (14.43 meters).

Trenton Faulkner rounded out the Trailblazer men's team's strong day, placing seventh in the men's mile with a time of 4:47.17.

"It was fun to get a team win on the men's side," VU Track and Field coach Chris Gafner said. "We still have to get more consistency in areas, but we had some athletes with some nice performances."

"Matteo keeps making records look easy," Gafner added. "He is in an excellent position heading into Nationals. Anthony Campbell came up big with wins in both the high jump and long jump and a nice qualifying mark in the high jump to put him fourth on the NJCAA list."

The VU women's team also had a strong day at Louisville, led by sophomore runner Meagan Moreno, who placed second in the 3000 meter.  Her time of 10:40.96 is good for third all-time in VU history.

"Meagan led the women's side with a strong second-place finish," Gafner said. "Her 3000 meter mark was the third best in school history."

Trailblazer pole vaulter Makinzi Meurer finished third, reaching a height of 3.21 meters.

"Makinzi had a nice day. She currently has the top pole vault mark in the NJCAA this year."

Sophomore Kyra Young and freshman Jacy Collins placed second and fourth respectively in the women's 1000 meter with Young posting a time of 3:17.25 and Collins coming in at 3:22.09.

Ryann Griesemer placed third in the high jump, with a height of 1.50 meters.

The Trailblazer women's 4x400 relay team of Chloe Knepp, Kaitlyn Koenig, Kyra Young and Meagan Moreno placed seven, with a time of 4:31.26.

The VU women's team finished seventh as a team, with a combined 36 points.

Vincennes now turns their attentions to the 2021 NJCAA Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field National Championships at Pittsburg, Kan., March 5th and 6th.

"We are looking strong heading into nationals," coach Gafner said. "But we still need to make some adjustments to arrive in Kansas in our top form."