Kenyon wins six events, takes third at home meet

GAMBIER, Ohio -- In its only outdoor meet of the season, the Kenyon College women's track and field team hosted the annual Duane Gomez Invitational on Saturday at Wilder Track. The Owls notched six event wins and chalked up 134 points, which placed them third in the final seven-team standings.

Among the Kenyon event winners were two athletes who doubled up on gold medals. Senior Paula Soric once again dominated the jumps, winning both the triple jump and the long jump, while first-year Ariella Sobel was the fastest in the 400-meter race and anchored the Owls' winning 4x100-meter relay team.

Soric started the day with a winning jump of 17-2¾ (5.25 meters) in the long jump. She finished ahead of teammate Olivia Gumz, a sophomore who placed fourth with a season-best measurement of 15-11 (4.85 meters). Later, Soric won the triple jump, posting a mark of 38-0¼ (11.59 meters). Gumz finished runner-up in the event, turning in a leap that spanned 33-1¼ (10.09 meters).

Sobel blazed through the 400 in 58.89, which was her season best and approached the Kenyon program record of 58.70. Junior Jean Cook tacked on an eighth-pace finish with a time of 1:05.23 in the same race. Before the 400, Sobel ran the final leg on the 4x100 relay that clocked in with a winning time of 51.02. Joining her on that squad were Noa Helmbrecht, Gumz, and Alina Secrest.

At the meet's end, Sobel kick-started the 4x400-meter relay team that placed second with a time of 4:09.90. This time around, she paired up with Addilyn Tober, Cook, and Anna Brown. In all, Sobel played a role in adding 28 points to Kenyon's team total.

The Owls had two other winners on the track. Brown, a junior, won the 800-meter run in 2:18.56 and Lucie Prior, a first-year, took first in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 12:35.26. Senior Ellianne Retzlaff was right behind Prior, taking second place in 12:58.24.

Helmbrecht, who was a part of that winning 4x100 relay, went on her own to record a runner-up finish in the 100-meter dash and a fifth-place finish in the 200-meter dash. Her respective times were 12.64, which was a season best, and 27.77.

Other noteworthy Kenyon performances on the oval included a third-place run from Hannah Gross in the 1,500-meter run (5:42.58), a fourth-place finish from Addilyn Tober in the 400-meter hurdles (1:10.28), and a fifth-place showing from Eva Shannon in the 5,000-meter run (21:03.72). Both Gross' and Tober's times were personal season bests.

Back in field events, first-year Penelope Artemis tallied 11 team points across two events. She earned six points for her third-place finish in the shot put and then five points for her fourth-place result in the hammer throw. Her best in the shot put went 37-1 (11.30 meters) and her best in the hammer traveled 131-9 (40.16 meters).

In the javelin, sophomore Alessandra Murray placed fourth with a toss that covered 93-8 (28.57 meters) and, in the discus, senior Jolien Kusi took ninth place and earned one team point for her attempt that went a season best 102-8 (31.31 meters).

When all the event scores were added, Wittenberg University came out on top of the team standings with 178.33 points and The College of Wooster took second with 162.33 points. Denison University, which had 70.83 points finished fourth, one place behind the host Owls.

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Players Mentioned

Anna Brown: Junior; Mid-Distance

Jean Cook: Junior; Sprints

Hannah Gross: Sophomore; Distance

Olivia Gumz: Sophomore; Jumps

Alessandra Murray: Sophomore; Throws

Alina Secrest: Senior; Sprints

Eva Shannon: Sophomore; Distance

Paula Soric: Senior; Jumps

Jolien Kusi: Senior; Throws

Ellianne Retzlaff: Senior; Distance

Players Mentioned

Anna Brown
: Junior; Mid-Distance

Jean Cook
: Junior; Sprints

Hannah Gross
: Sophomore; Distance

Olivia Gumz
: Sophomore; Jumps

Alessandra Murray
: Sophomore; Throws

Alina Secrest
: Senior; Sprints

Eva Shannon
: Sophomore; Distance

Paula Soric
: Senior; Jumps

Jolien Kusi
: Senior; Throws

Ellianne Retzlaff
: Senior; Distance