Men's Track and Field | 12/4/2021 12:30:00 AM

2021 WVU Indoor Open Results
2021 GVSU Holiday Classic Results
    The West Liberty University men's and women's track teams opened their indoor season in spectacular fashion on Friday.
    Competing in two events – the WVU Indoor Open hosted by West Virginia University in Morgantown and the GVSU Holiday Open at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich. – Coach Justin Simpson's squad enjoyed record-setting days at both venues.
    Hailey Carreon had a huge meet inside the WVU Shell Building, winning three events and setting school records in two of them.
    The junior speedster from Core, W.Va. got off to a flying start, breaking her own school record in winning the 60-meter hurdles in a time of 9.11 seconds. She followed that up by becoming the first WLU woman to go under 8 seconds in the 60-meter sprint with a time of 7.95 seconds and completed her trifecta by winning the 200-meter dash in a brisk 27.26.
    Sophomore Abbe Stackpole also impressed in the sprints. She also broke the previous school record in the 60-meter sprint with a time of 8.12 seconds and was less than one-tenth of a second behind Carreon at the tape in the 200-meter final.
    Returning senior Makayla Rolince had a near-miss in the long jump, settling for runner-up honors with a leap of 15 feet, 10.5 inches - barely three inches shy of her own school record - but the highlight of the women's field events in Morgantown was provided by a Hilltopper newcomer.
    Olivia Combs, a freshman from Nashport, Ohio, made quite a splash in her West Liberty debut with a runaway win in the triple jump. Combs' hop, skip and jump was measured at 10.35 meters or 33 feet, 11.5 inches. That was more than two feet farther than the runner-up finisher and shattered the previous school record of 31 feet, 9.25 inches set by Joralda Rice on Feb. 22, 2020.
    A pair of women's records also went by the boards in Michigan as Hannah Kemp and Kelsi Hulit added a couple new entries in the women's indoor record book at the Kelly Family Sports Center on the campus of Grand Valley State University.
    Kemp had a record-setting run of 17:35.53 in the 5000-meter race, shattering the previous school record by more than a minute. Sherry Borsos had held the record of 18:49.90 for the indoor 5K since 2011.
    Hulit added a few more inches to her own indoor shot put record with a heave of 12.36 meters or 40 feet, 6.75 inches. That was three inches farther than her previous standard of 40 feet, 3.75 inches from Jan. 25, 2020.
    On the men's side, Michael Harriman and Danah Phillips made a run at Phil White's indoor 3000 meter mark at the GVSU meet but came up just short. Harriman ran 8:41.21 with Phillips hot on his heels at 8:41.35 but White's school record of 8:39.66 survived.
    The men's record book also emerged unscathed in Morgantown but several Hilltopper thinclads turned in strong performances.
    Senior sprinter Ethan Secrist came within three-thousandths of a second of matching Carreon's sprint "trifecta" only to be nosed out in a photo finish at the line in the 60-meter sprint final.
    Secrist led the qualifying for the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8:57 and followed that up with a winning sprint of 8.64 seconds in the final. He was also the low qualifier for the 60-meter sprint at 7.19 seconds but finished in a virtual dead heat with Alderson Broaddus' Devon Napier in the final with both stopping the clock at 7.12 seconds. Upon closer inspection, Napier was declared the winner in a time of 7.1177 seconds to Secrist's 7.1207 seconds.
    The former Brooke High standout shook off the disappointment and added one more win to his collection, running away with the 200-meter dash in a time of 23.01 seconds. Hilltopper freshman Marcus Elmer was second in 23.72.
    Another newcomer had an impressive debut for the men as Reese Burnside, a freshman from West Union, W.Va., cleared 14 feet, 5.5 inches (4.40 meters) to win the high jump by a full foot over his closest pursuer.
    Led by junior Dillon Meintel's winning leap of 6 feet, 3.5 inches, West Liberty swept the top four places in the high jump. Freshman Liam Vinskovich also cleared 6 feet, 3.5 inches but Meintel got the nod due to fewer misses. Sophomore Jeremiah Blackmore was third at 6 feet, 1.5 inches on fewer misses than freshman Mekhi Anderson, who also topped out at 6 feet, 1.5 inches.
    Also picking up a win in the field events was senior thrower Grant Sproull, who won the weight throw by more than 11 feet with a heave of 42 feet, 8.75 inches.
    The West Liberty men and women will take a break over the holidays before returning to the WVU Shell Building on Jan. 15 for the Marty Pushkin Open.