Manchester Track Runs Away with a Victory 

Zach Newcomer

Four Key Athletes

• Mariah Jordan, Junior, Distance: The standout runner for the Spartans is having another great season for the women’s track team. Jordan finished first in two events at the Indiana DIII Track and Field Championships with top honors in the 1500m and 5000m events. At the Spartan Classic, she finished first with a time of 2:21.60 in the 800m event.
• Shay Aator, Junior, Thrower: Coming off a successful indoor campaign, Aator continues to light up the outdoor throwing events. At the Spartan Classic, she finished first in hammer throw, with a toss of 48.66 meters. Her top effort this year for discus came at the Hanover Invitational on April 2 and it measured 36.69 meters, earning her a third place finish in a field of 33 throwers.
• Austin Coughlin, First-year, Sprints/Jumps/Hurdles: The speedster for the men’s team earned his first collegiate track event win at the Spartan Classic in the 100 meters, with a time of 11.09 seconds. He also added a second place finish in the 200 meter dash, crossing the finish line at 22.65 seconds.
• Austin LeClere, Sophomore, Throws/Sprints/Jumps: At the Spartan Classic, LeClere picked up a top-place finish in the javelin throw with a toss of 48.45 meters. He also has a fourth place finish in javelin at the Indiana DIII Track and Field Championships, with a throw of 49.83 meters, his career best so far.

Past Meets

• Hanover College Invitational: The men’s side finished in the eighth spot with 32 points, while women tallied 62.5 points to collect fourth place. Men had three top five finishes: Ramsen Bet-Nimrod earned third in the high jump, Coughlin placed third in the 100 meter dash and Connor Bresnahan placed fifth in the 10,000-meter. Top performers for the women include Tiffany Harber in the 10,000-meter and Jacey Cauhorn in discus, with both garnering the top spot for the Spartans.
• Indiana DIII Championships: The men’s squad finished seventh with 44 points and the women ended first with 140 points. The top performer was Bet-Nimrod, picking up a second place finish in high jump. On the women’s side, there were five event champions to help Manchester claim the title. Jordan, Cauhorn and Harber all picked up top place finishes in their events.
• Spartan Track Classic: The men finished fourth with 113 points and women picked up the team title once again with 148 points and had four event top place finishers. Coughlin earned first place in the 100 meters and LaClere ended first in the javelin toss to help the Spartan men. Jordan, Aator, Angela Gonzales, and the 4x400 meter relay team of Jade Bollett, Dasia Beck, Olivia Jenks and Jordan won their events to help push MU to first place.

Upcoming Meets

• April 29-30, 2016 HCAC Championships: The men and the women will be traveling to Bluffton University to participate in the conference championships. A year ago, the men ended fourth, while the women claimed the team championship.
• May 12, 13, 19 and 20, Last Chance Meet: Both squads will travel to North Central College in Illinois to participate in the Dr. Keeler Track & Field Meet. The first two days of the event are qualifiers, while the last two days are for the final qualifiers.