Lotivio Wins Heptathlon, Kearney Meets National Standard for Buffs Indoor Track & Field
SALEM, Va. – The Milligan University men's and women's indoor track & field seasons continued with a few athletes competing this weekend in a pair of different locations. For nine athletes, it was a trip to the Bast-Cregger Invitational in Salem, Va. For two men's heptathletes, it was a trek to the VMI Winter Relays in Lexington, Va.
Bast-Cregger Invitational
Milligan sent nine athletes to compete in the Bast-Cregger Invitational, hosted by Roanoke College. Luis Peralta placed third in the men's 400m, posting a 50.83-second time to start the event.
In the women's 800m, McKenzie Fitzgerald came away with a fifth-place showing with a time of 2:25.12. Hope Krell placed 12th in the same race, coming across the line in 2:28.75. Gracie Franklin also competed in the 800m, running a 2:39.04.
In the men's 1000m, Peralta came out with the title in the event. He paced the field with a 2:31.73 clip. Douglas Cornfield finished right behind him in second with a 2:36.54 showing. Robert Gould placed 12th with a 2:44.80, as well.
The women's 1000m saw Ellen-Mary Kearney posted a 2:54.35, which is an "A" standard qualifying mark for the NAIA Indoor T&F Championships. With that effort, she won the race, as well. Fitzgerald came in fourth with a 3:06.37, while Karly Wiljhelm placed 11th with a 3:17.55 mark. Krell came away with a 12th-place showing, running a 3:17.88, and Franklin placed 15th with a 3:26.26.
Cornfield and Gould came back in the men's 3000m, as Cornfield won the race with his 8:49.32. Gould placed 15th with a 9:24.36 time.
VMI Winter Relays
Philip Lotivio had a standout weekend at the VMI Winter Relays, where he and Reese Pesterfield competed in the Heptathlon on Friday and Saturday. Lotivio was the event's winner, while Pesterfield placed sixth.
Lotivio earned 772 points in his 60m Dash run of 7.32 seconds to win that event. He then placed third in Long Jump with a 6.26m leap for 644 points. In the Shot Put, he threw the fourth-longest stone, reaching 10.10m for 492 points. In the High Jump, Lotivio came away with a 1.80 meter jump, which was tied for first and netted him 627 points. His next event was the 60m Hurdles, in which he posted a 9.22 time, which was sixth-fastest and earned him 698 points. Then, in the Pole Vault, Lotivio's 4.20m height was well above everyone else, as he earned 673 in that event. Finally, his 1000m was 3:12.93, which gave him 543 points to earn him a total of 4,449 points, which was 190 ahead of his closest competitor.
Next up for the two squads is the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C. on Feb. 10-11.