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MU prepares for home invite

Freshman Jahquil Hargrove competes in the Miami Invitational April 9  at Miami University’s George Rider Track.
Freshman Jahquil Hargrove competes in the Miami Invitational April 9 at Miami University’s George Rider Track.

Melissa Maykut, Staff Writer

Freshman Jahquil Hargrove competes in the Miami Invitational April 9 at Miami University’s George Rider Track. (SCOTT KISSELL | The Miami Student)

The Miami University men's track and field team had one individual victory at the Polytan Invitational hosted by Indiana University April 22 and 23, while four runners from the team competed at the Jesse Owens Classic hosted by Ohio State University.

The RedHawks' single victory came from senior Michael McCarty, who jumped to a first place finish in the long jump. McCarty had a season-best jump of 7.25 meters/23-9.5.

For field events like the long jump, athletes must jump three times in their seed, then three mores times if they move on to the finals. McCarty had to jump six times, but he said having the team camp at the end of the long jump pumped him up.

"When you're on your sixth jump, you're tired and don't want to go, but when you hear cheers from your team, it motivates you," McCarty said.

Alongside his long jump victory, McCarty placed fourth in the 400-meter hurdles with a season-best time of 54.27 seconds.

The rain and lightening delays didn't stop the rest of the RedHawks from posting season and personal-best times, jumps and throws.

"We had a few things that went really well at Indiana," head Coach Warren Mandrell said. " One really big thing was Hargrove qualified for the U.S. Junior National Championships."

Freshman Jahquil Hargrove placed fourth in the 400-meter dash in a personal-best time of 47.69 seconds.

In field events, freshman Taylor Celestin had a personal-best throw of 53.20 meters/174-6, earning him a third place victory in the javelin throw. Senior Adam Ruiz then had a personal-best throw of 52.21 meters/171-3 in the hammer throw, placing sixth.

Freshman Sam Spallinger placed third in the long jump with a personal-best leap of 6.96 meters/22-10. Spallinger also had a personal-best time of 22.62 in the 200-meter dash, placing him in 12th.

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Redshirt junior Matt Rudin and sophomore Sam Wildeman both matched their season bests in the pole vault. Rudin finished fifth and Wildeman placed seventh.

In the triple jump, Matt Losi had a personal-best jump of 13.79 meters/45-3, earning him a fifth place finish.

At the Jesse Owens Classic in Columbus, Ohio, freshman Daniel Garleb, junior Jarroed Eick and seniors Michael Perry and Robbie Fisher were the four competitors for the Red and White.

Fisher finished 11th in the 3000-meter steeplechase and Eick placed 10th in the 1500-meter run.

In the 5000-meter race, Garleb had a personal-best time of 14:54.09, finished in 10th, while Perry finished the race in 19th.

"It's shaping up to be a really good season," McCarty said. "This is the time of the season for us to have personal records."

The Red and White will compete in their second and final home meet of the season Saturday at George Rider Track.