GREENSBORO, N.C.—The Mount Union track and field team has gone 439 days since competing at a national championship while enduring 3 national championships cancelled but the Purple Raiders have prospered during that time winning 3 of the 4 total conference championships during that time with the men winning both indoor and outdoor and the women winning the outdoor conference championship.
A total of 21 Raiders qualified and will start competition Thursday afternoon at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championship with prelims in the running events and finals in the field events.
Senior Lucas Cooper (Hanoverton / United Local) in the discus and junior Bri Aveni (Geneva) in the pole vault will start Mount Union off at 11 am with junior Kennady Gibbins (Navarre / Fairless) beginning the heptathon at 11:30 with the 100-meter hurdles.
Senior Cortni Arp (Copley), sophomore Kenadee Wayt (Wheeling, W.Va. / Wheeling Central Catholic) and freshmen Madison Miles (Parma / Padua Franciscan) and Lauren Roncone (North Canton / Hoover) will compete in the 4x100-meter relay at 3:00 pm.
Juniors Tyler Gill (Greenville, Pa. / Reynolds) and Zack Munchick (Westfield Center / Cloverleaf) along with sophomores Jared Storm (Barberton) and Andrew McVicker (Dover) will take the track at 3:15 for the 4x100-meter relay.
Senior Brit McCauley (Ontario) will take on the 1500-meter run at 3:55 while junior Michaelina Terranova (North Jackson / Jackson-Milton) will be competing in the 400-meter hurdles at 4:25.
Gibbins will be competing in the long jump as well at 5:00.
To end the night for Mount Union will be the women's and men's 4x400-meter relay with Arp, Wayt, Miles and sophomore Micah Donley (Carrolton) for the women at 7:00 and for the men Storm and Gill combine with sophomores Matthew McBride (Conneaut) and Justin Knoch (Canton / GlenOak) at 7:15.
On Friday Gibbins will continue her heptathlon at 11:30 am while also competing in the high jump that begins at 11:30 as well.
Senior Sabrina Stocker (Madison) will be competing in the 100-meter hurdles at 2:10 pm. Senior Tanner Slack (New Concord / John Glenn) and freshman Elijah Cobb (Mansfield / St. Peter's) will compete in the high jump at 2:30.
Miles will compete at 3:00 while Storm and McBride will compete at 3:15 in the 400-meter dash.
Junior Alex Bryan (Geneva) will be the last to take the track on Friday at 4:15 in the 800-meter run.
Saturday Brody Coleman (Knox, Pa. / Keystone) will be competing in the triple jump at 2:00 pm while in the running events for the Raiders as they are scheduled to have possibly 11 total events to be run depedent on prelims.
