VU Indoor Track has strong day at Indiana State University Open

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Vincennes University men's and women's Indoor Track and Field teams had another good showing over the weekend at Saturday's Indiana State University Open in Terre Haute.

The Trailblazer men's team placed third as a team, ahead of two NCAA Division I programs, while the VU women's team placed seventh on the day.

The VU women's team was led by a good performance in the 400 meters by sophomore Chloe Knepp (Montgomery, Ind.) who placed second with a time of 1:01.36.

Knepp would also take sixth in the 200-meter race, with a time of 27.33 seconds.

Sophomore Kyra Young (South Bend, Ind.) placed sixth in the One Mile race, ending with a time of 5:28.60.

Freshman Abyela Cruz (French Lick, Ind.) got on the podium in the shot put. Placing eighth with a throw of 8.16 meters.

"We had a very good day Saturday to wrap up our regular indoor season," VU Track and Field Coach Marty Rogier said. "The teams performed really well and we got a couple more automatic qualifying times for Nationals."

"Kyra Young had her best run of the season with a 5:28.6 mile placing sixth," Rogier added. "She ran a very smart race and was a couple of seconds off the qualifying time. Hope Laughlin also had a huge PR in the mile. Besting her previous time by close to 28 seconds."

"Chloe continued to impress, finishing second in the 400 with a very strong race. She was just off her PR but when you convert from bank track times to flat, it was probably actually a fast time than she ran last week at IU. She also came back to take sixth in the 200 with a season best 27.33 seconds. Brittany Page ran a season best time of 2:37.02 in the 800."

The VU men's team had three first-place finishers on the day, including freshman Mathew Keitany (Kenya) who took the top spot in the One Mile run at 4:23.68.

The VU 4x400 Relay team took home first place as the team of Yamar Lyons (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Trenton Faulkner (Vincennes, Ind.), Keitany and Manamanya Opiew (Indianapolis, Ind.) finished with a time of 3:31.36.

Vincennes also took fifth place in the 4x400 meter relay with team of Collin Sutton (New Albany, Ind.) Ernest Momodu (Indianapolis, Ind.), Reed Lawless (Valparaiso, Ind.) and Walter Tanui finishing with a time of 3:51.10.

Freshman Nicholas Stanislaus (Grenada) also came away with the top spot in the Triple Jump, ending with a distance of 13.96 meters.

Stanislaus also took home sixth in the Long Jump at 6.46 meters, behind sophomore Kyle Stewart (Evansville, Ind.) who placed third at 6.77 meters.

Manamanya Opiew and Trenton Faulkner placed top-four in the 800-meter race, with Opiew taking second at 1:57.18 and Faulkner placing fourth at 1:59.57.

Freshman Jalen Bowman (Evansville, Ind.) took home third place in the 60-meter dash, ending with a time of 7.03 seconds.

Collin Sutton placed sixth in the 200 meters at 23.82 seconds and Yamar Lyons placed eighth in the 400 meters with a time of 53.39 seconds.

Sophomore Matthew Frazier (Franklin, Ind.) came away with a seventh-place finish in the Pole Vault after reaching 4.07 meters.

"Armin got us going on the day with a new PR of 14.80 in the weight throw and placed ninth," Rogier said. "He had a really good series of throws against a very good group of throwers. Mason came back with another PR in the shot put for the sixth meet in a row."

"Kyle and Nicholas teamed up to take third and sixth in the long jump," Rogier added. "They were not their biggest jumps but I believe they are both getting close to putting it together. Nicholas came back to win the triple jump with a season best of 13.96, which is very close to being an automatic qualifier. He looked very good and I believe he has the potential to help our team in a lot of events."

"In the men's mile Mathew torched the field the last 400 meters to run his best and qualify for nationals at 4:23.68. I am not sure how low he can go when he hooks up with a fast field at Nationals. Jalen placed third in the 60 meters at 7.03. He has been dealing with a nagging hamstring injury and we hope to get him right by outdoor season."

"Asius Miles ran for the first time this year and put in a nice race at 51.34 in the 400 meters. He ran unattached and placed fifth overall. Yamar also ran a very nice race, he always competes to the very last step and placed eighth at 53.39."

"The men's 800 was again the most exciting event of the day for us. Manamanya ran a very nice race and just got edge at the wire to finish second. Trenton was in the same race and also ran a great race finishing fourth. Ernest ran in a separate heat but turned his season best time of 2:03.00 to place ninth. Their times will qualify them to run in the 4x800 at Indoor Nationals."

"Collin Sutton ran a season best 23.82 in the 200. We could be looking at some good times from him when we get outdoors. The men's 4x400 won in an exciting race with Opiew running down a couple of teams to win. He was teamed up with Lyons, Faulkner and Keitany."

The VU Track and Field teams will have some time to rest and recover as they prepare now for the NJCAA National Indoor Championships Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5 in Pittsburg, Kansas.

"It was a fun day to watch the work that these kids put in to pay off with several PRs and season best performances," Rogier said. "When looking at the final score, I was very happy to see us finish third on the men's side behind two very good track schools in ISU and Purdue-Fort Wayne and to beat a couple of Missouri Valley Conference teams and a couple more four-year schools. I believe we should be traveling with around 15 athletes to the National Indoor Championships in a couple of weeks."

VINCENNES RESULTS

TEAM RESULTS

WOMEN'S

Indiana State – 176

Purdue-Fort Wayne – 112

Valparaiso – 41

Kentucky Wesleyan – 31

IUPUI – 28

Evansville – 27

VINCENNES – 10

MEN'S

Indiana State – 194

Purdue-Fort Wayne – 75

VINCENNES – 56

Valparaiso – 38

Evansville – 35

Kentucky Wesleyan – 19

Wabash – 11

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

WOMEN'S

200 Meters

Chloe Knepp – 6, 27.33

400 Meters

Chloe Knepp – 2, 1:01.36

1 Mile

Kyra Young – 6, 5:28.60

Shot Put

Abyela Cruz – 8, 8.16m

MEN'S

60 Meters

Jalen Bowman – 3, 7.03

200 Meters

Collin Sutton – 6, 23.82

400 Meters

Yamar Lyons – 8, 53.39

800 Meters

Manamanya Opiew – 2, 1:57.18

Trenton Faulkner – 4, 1:59.57

1 Mile

Mathew Keitany – 1, 4:23.68

4x400 Relay

VU 'A' (Lyons, Faulkner, Keitany, Opiew) – 1, 3:31.36

VU 'B' (Sutton, Momodu, Lawless, Tanui) – 5, 3:51.10

Pole Vault

Matthew Frazier – 7, 4.07m

Long Jump

Kyle Stewart – 3, 6.77m

Nicholas Stanislaus – 6, 6.46m

Triple Jump

Nicholas Stanislaus – 1, 13.96m