Men's Track and Field | 4/21/2019 12:07:00 PM
DURHAM, N.C. – The West Liberty University men's and women's track teams joined a huge field in fighting through significant challenges in this weekend's weather-marred Duke Invitational at Morris Williams Stadium.
Severe storms in the Raleigh-Durham area on Friday forced the postponement of all but a handful of events until Saturday, transforming a scheduled two-day meet into a stripped-down one-day affair.
Gusty winds and occasional heavy rain plagued Saturday's truncated schedule, as well, but several West Liberty athletes were able to overcome the elements with positive results.
"It was a pretty frustrating experience," head coach
Justin Simpson said. "Obviously, you have no control over the weather but when they cut down the schedule in an attempt to get everything in on Saturday, they eliminated several of the (heats) containing West Liberty athletes.
"Even so, I'm proud of the way my team dealt with everything. Even though the numbers weren't what we were hoping for due to the conditions, we still had several people post competitive times and are still moving forward as we get ready for the (Mountain East) conference meet."
Among the highlights for the Hilltoppers on the weekend were
Hannah Ramirez splashing home with a time of 12:31.93 in the 3000-meter steeplechase - the fourth-best time in the MEC this spring.
On the men's side,
Ben Hart and
Jordan Hosey also had PRs in the steeplechase with Hart's time of 10:08.90 ranking seventh on the current MEC heat sheet. In addition,
Michael Harriman and
Danah Phillips popped onto the MEC leaderboard in the 1500.
Senior thrower
Dominique Hudson didn't threaten any of the school records he's been shattering with regularity throughout his final collegiate season but still posted the best discus and shot efforts of any NCAA Division II athlete in the meet.
TRACK AND FIELD
2019 Duke Invitational
(at Durham, N.C.)
West Liberty Individuals
WOMEN
800:
Emily Louk 2:26.67
1500:
Emily Louk 5:04.34;
Ryan Wilson 5:27.90
5000:
Grace Henley 20:43.05
3000 Steeple:
Hannah Ramirez 12:31.93
MEN
800:
Danah Phillips 1:59.70
1500:
Michael Harriman 4:04.77;
Danah Phillips 4:07.15; Zac Banks 4:26.61
5000:
Jared Ullom 16:34.19
3000 Steeple:
Ben Hart 10:08.90;
Jordan Hosey 10:28.91
Shot:
Dominique Hudson 51-4 (15.65m)
Discus:
Dominique Hudson 156-0 (47.55m)
