Sprinters, hurdlers lead Kenyon at Wooster meet

WOOSTER, Ohio -- Junior Josh Greville and first-year Kudzaishe Mhere cranked out event wins Saturday at The College of Wooster Fighting Scots Invitational and paced the Kenyon College sprinters and hurdles, as the Owls tallied 69 points and finished fifth in the final team standings.

Greville put up the initial win for the Owls, taking first place in the 60-meter hurdles. He topped a field of six other runners by finishing the race in 8.91 seconds. That mark was a personal best, topping his previous best of 8.99.

Mhere led the Kenyon fleet of sprinters. In the 60-meter dash he clocked in at 7.15 to claim the runner-up spot. He finished ahead of teammates Emmanuel Makelele and Julius Thompson, who finished in fourth and eighth place with respective times of 7.25 and 7.40. That trio's results accounted for 14 team points.

Mhere was not done there. He went on to win the 200-meter dash in 23.14, ahead of Makelele, who placed eighth in 24.20. On the day, Mhere posted a team-high 18 points for the Owls.

Kenyon also collected major points in the mile run, an event in which three Owls scored. First-year Charlie Blackmer was best among those three, clocking in at 4:21.56 and claiming the runner-up spot. Classmate Charlie Menzel crossed the line in 4:33.75 for seventh place and senior Peter Bernhardt finished in 4:39.18 for an eighth-place spot.

The other Owl point-getter on the oval Saturday was junior Owen Rodstrom. He finished the 800-meter run in a personal-record time of 2:03.01 and claimed a fourth-place finish. His previous best collegiate time in the event was 2:05.18.

In field events, first-year Graham Yeager had an outstanding meet for Kenyon. He earned a fifth-place finish in the weight throw and a sixth-place spot in the shot put. His weight throw distance measured 39-6 (12.04 meters) and his best toss in the shot traveled 37-1¼ (11.31 meters).

Junior Ezekiel Kiwanuka was fifth in the long jump, while first-year Richard Grooms was sixth in the triple jump and seventh in the long jump. Kiwanuka went 19-6¼ (5.95 meters) in the long jump and Grooms went 18-0½ (5.50 meters). In the triple jump, Grooms covered 37-11¼ (11.56 meters).

In the end, it was Case Western Reserve University that won the Invitational title with 173 team points. Oberlin College was second with 106, Denison University was third with 100 points, and host Wooster finished just ahead of Kenyon, with 82 team points.

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Players Mentioned

Peter Bernhardt: Senior; Distance

Josh Greville: Junior; Multis

Ezekiel Kiwanuka: Junior; Jumps

Emmanuel Makelele: Senior; Sprints

Owen Rodstrom: Junior; Mid-Distance

Julius Thompson: Junior; Sprints

Charlie Blackmer: First-Year; Mid-Distance

Charlie Menzel: First-Year; Distance

Richard Grooms: First-Year; Jumps

Graham Yeager: First-Year; Throws

Players Mentioned

Peter Bernhardt
: Senior; Distance

Josh Greville
: Junior; Multis

Ezekiel Kiwanuka
: Junior; Jumps

Emmanuel Makelele
: Senior; Sprints

Owen Rodstrom
: Junior; Mid-Distance

Julius Thompson
: Junior; Sprints

Charlie Blackmer
: First-Year; Mid-Distance

Charlie Menzel
: First-Year; Distance

Richard Grooms
: First-Year; Jumps

Graham Yeager
: First-Year; Throws