Esslinger Leads Goucher Track And Field At Landmark Conference Championships
SELINGROVE, Pa. – Taylor Gunter (Laurel, Md./Sandy Springs Friends School) won the shot put and finished second in the weight throw to step onto the medal stand twice to power the Goucher College track and field team at the Landmark Conference Track And Field Indoor Championships.
After finishing fifth as a freshman and fourth last season, Gunter threw 11.31m on her first throw, which would have also been good enough to win the title. The junior then went 11.47m on her second toss to secure first place and earn her first conference championship. In the weight throw it was not until her last throw that she set her best mark for the day with a personal-best mark of 14.30m to finish second.
Gabby Blazek (New Orleans, La./Louise S McGehee) and Anna Gallina (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) also stepped up to the medal stand with second-place finishes. Blazek was only the second participate to clear the 3.04m mark on the women's side. The junior cleared the height on her third attempt. The mark for Blazek was a personal best and the second-best mark in school history. Gallina finished second in the 60m dash with a time of 8.35 to place second in the event.
Gallina also registered a Top-10 finish in the 200m dash (28.73) while Mikayla Hinnant (Waldorf, Md./Westlake) finished eighth in the shot put (9.82m) and 15th in the weight throw (9.67m).
Gallina, Blazek, Sydney Smith (Falls Church, Va./George Mason HS) and Enid Swatson (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Oakwood Friends School) placed fifth in the 4x200m relay (1:56.04).
Smith was 11th in the 200m dash (28.85) and 14th in the 60m dash (8.77) while Jennifer Alves (Rockville, Md./Richard Montgomery) placed 16th in the 400m dash (1:12.66) and Hannah Brogan (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) was 24th in the 3000m run (12.54.39).
On the men's side, Devon Esslinger (Las Cruces, N.M./Las Cruces) paced the Gophers with a fifth-place standing in the triple jump with a school-record leap of 12.37m, besting Greg Rabus' jump from 2002. The sophomore, fresh off playing on the Goucher men's basketball team, also finished seventh in the 60m hurdles (9.23) missing the finals by 0.02 seconds.
Miles (Mia) Taylor (Bowie, Md./Wakefield) notched the other Top-10 finish with a ninth-place finish in the 60m hurdles (9.85.).
Brandon Julot (Baltimore, Md./The SEED School) finished 12th in the shot put (11.50m) and 16th in the weight throw (10.81m). Darby Bauer (Perkiomenville, Pa./Boyertown Area) placed 12th in the weight throw (11.80m) and 15th in the shot put (11.26m) while Joel Gladney (Perry Hall, Md./Perry Hall) was 16th in the shot put (11.21m),
Langston Henry (New York, N.Y./Grace Church School) (16th place, 25.31) and Kai Miller (Harlem, N.Y.) (18th place, 25.96) competed in the 200m dash.
Moravian won the women's side with 147 points while Elizabethtown (110), Susquehanna (98), Catholic (56), Scranton (49), Goucher (36) and Juniata (29) rounded out the field.
Moravian also won the men's side with 173 points and were followed by Elizabethtown (152), Susquehanna (102), Juniata (44), Catholic (29), Scranton (19) and Goucher (2) in the team standings.
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Shot Put
Weight Throw
Pole Vault
60m dash
