INDIANAPOLIS – The UIndy track & field squad was split between the campuses of Marian University (Knight Open) and the University of Cincinnati (Oliver Nikoloff Invitational) this weekend to open the outdoor slate of their schedule. Despite the wind and the chill, the Greyhounds kicked off their first outdoor meets of 2022 on a good note, notching some PRs and capturing a couple NCAA provisional marks.

OLIVER NIKOLOFF INVITE
The two biggest performances belonged to Ben Nagel and Brittney Clark. Nagel, in the 1500, smashed his PR set just a year ago with a time of 3:48.47 and in the process eclipsed the provo mark of 3:49.99. Clark joined in with her own outdoor provo in the pole vault, clearing 3.86 meters to put her among the best in the country in the young outdoor season

The speedy Josiah Adams ventured to Cincy as well for his first-ever outdoor race, and the freshman showed why he's one of the best young runners in the country, capturing first place in the 400 with a time of 49.52, his first-ever sub-50-second effort.

The 800 featured Emily Sonderman crossing in seventh with a PR time of 2:13.79. For the men's 800, both Evan Stonitsch and Andrew Bixler improved their PRs.

In the aforementioned men's 1500, Andrew Bixler, Logan Wong, Harnoor Dosanjh and Devon Whitaker all finish with PRs, while Kaylin Casner and Mariah Judy both earned PRs on their side. Judy's PR being a massive one with it being her first career sub five-minute 1500.

Sticking with the distance crew, Claire Eaton's third-place and Will Reid's ninth were the top finishes in the 5K, with Eaton being just seconds from the provo mark. Reid's mark of 14:52.91 was good enough for a PR as well. He was joined by Noah Kurtz, Blake Ellis, Hannah Wells and Hanna Stamm on the 5K PR train.

The sole Hound in the 3000-meter steeplechase was Melissa Spencer, and with a time of 11:01:4, she put the provo mark of 11:00.95 in her sights.

Aside from Clark's provo, the pole vaulters showed out with Lauren Joseph in fourth and Sabrina Robison in sixth against some tough competition. On the men's side, Cade Priddy landed in fifth with a PR of 4.64 meters. He was followed by Treyton Arnold in sixth.

KNIGHT OPEN
The jumps and throws crews stayed put in Indianapolis for the nearby Knights Open. Coming off a stellar indoor campaign, freshman Ellie Lengerich started out her outdoor career in the high jump with a second-place leap of 1.60 meters, .08 meters from the NCAA provo. The versatile rookie also won the 400-meter race as the only runner to break the one-minute mark (58.21).

For shotput, Emily Bonser was the star of the show. Her toss of 12.37 meters in her Greyhound debut was good for second place. While in discus it was a PR party with Michaela Adams, ClaireTabbit, Evan Gaylor, Cameron Smith and Owen Butler all leaving with new personal bests. Smith and Gaylor's tosses both were their first time breaking the 40-meter mark.

Bonser exccelled in the hammer throw as well, taking second with a mark of 44.62 meters. For the men's side Taylor Sadkowski let it fly for 50.57 meters, landing him in fourth with a shiny new PR. Adams, Tabbit, Brock King and Noah Mattson as well grabbed PRs.

The last of the throws was the javelin, which took place the day prior on Friday. Lengerich was the lone female Hound with a mark of 25.16 meters in her first-ever outdoor meet. Aside from Lengerich, Butler, Cole Hurt and Tyler Nolan stuck the javelin further than they ever had before.

For the track side, the 1500 was first up with Kelsey Dugger netting fourth place with a time of 5:17.69, while Dryden Dodson-Thomas took the ninth spot for the men's crew. Dodson-Thomas' 4:12.61 was an 18-second PR. Jazlyn Gallardo-Cortez and Trinity Gleitz both knotted PRs in the 1500 as well. In the 5K, Nico Barrett ran a 15:45.47, his first career sub-16 minute 5K.

Fresh off winning the GLVC Indoor hurdles title, Sam DeWitt grabbed first place in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.25. He ran alongside Deandre Stroud, who recorded a PR of 16.48 seconds. The women's side featured Lindsey Wormuth in second, Ailliyah Reese in third and Maddi Turner in fourth; Wormuth's race hit a PR for the sophomore out of Noblesville, Ind. Turner went on to run in the 400 hurdles as well, crossing in second.

UP NEXT
The Greyhounds are on the road south to the campus of former GLVC rival Bellarmine as they take on the Jim Vargo Invitational on April 8-9.