The Wheaton Men’s Track and Field team competed in the Benedictine University Eagle Relays on Friday, April 13. The meet, which was originally scheduled for Friday and Saturday, was shortened due to rough weather on Saturday. The Wheaton men, however, were able to still exhibit impressive performances in the abbreviated competition.
The Wheaton Men’s relay teams really performed well at the meet. The 1,600 meter sprint medley squad consisted of freshman Peter Van Os, sophomore Andy Margason, sophomore Paul Amstutz and senior Johnathan Walker. The quartet took second place in the 14-team field. Van Os and Amstutz were later joined by freshman Andrew Lauber and senior Matt Peneycad to compete in the men’s 4×200 meter relay. The team posted a time of 1:34.99 to place third. The Thunder relay team of junior David Dischinger, junior Andrew Daghfal, sophomore Logan Pinkerton and Van Os took third place in the men’s 4×800 meter relay with a time of 8:01.83.
Senior Hudson Thomas competed in the open 3,000 meter run and placed sixth out of 51 other competitors. He finished with a time of 9:02.53. Sophomore Michael Larkin took eighth place in the same event at 9:08.27 and senior Seth Spykstra posted a time of 9:09.07, good for ninth place.
Sophomore Seth Massot showed a very strong 3,000 meter steeplechase time of 9:50.40. That time earned Massot second place. Freshman Jonah Jones also competed in the event and finished seventh, crossing the finish line at a time of 10:06.48.
Massot has had a very successful season so far, but he shared that, for him, the joy of track and field comes from getting to compete alongside his teammates. “The best part of this season has definitely been the team pulling together at every meet despite various event groups and locations. With this, the biggest lesson I’ve learned thus far is how to connect and care for the team and for our teammates in everyone’s individual events. We are synthesizing caring for the team and for our teammates.”
The Wheaton Thunder will be returning to action at home for the Don Church Twilight Meet on April 21. The meet will take place in McCully Stadium with field events starting at 2 p.m. and running events kicking off at 3:30 p.m.