Ospreys grab five titles at ASUN Track and Field Championships

Joslyn Simmons

Joslyn Simmons

North Florida finished third in the ASUN Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hodges Stadium over Mother’s Day weekend, with four Ospreys clinching five individual titles. The winners punched their tickets to the NCAA East Preliminary on May 25 in Kentucky.

Saturday

On day one, the Ospreys had a strong opening with top finishes in the 10,000m and a strong performance in men’s pole vaulting.

Eden Meyer, the reigning indoor 10000m champion, pulled out the victory after a late surge over Lipscomb’s Barbara Lee Ball with a time of 35:23.94. Her twin sister Grace rounded out the top medalist with a third-place finish in the 10,000m.

The Ospreys swept the men’s 10,000m senior Brad Hort and freshman teammates Noah Perkins and Rob Leverone grabbing second and third. This was the first time the duo had competed in this championship event.

The trio weren’t the only ones happy about the sweep. Hort’s father, John, shared his pride of the accomplishment and the effort from his son.

“This race today was kind of a culmination of alot hard work he’s been doing over the years,” Hort said.

Fynn Timm claimed gold in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 9:18.67 and Bradley Langenberg was not far behind in fourth place, coming in at 9:38.47.

On the field, Sheldon McLean and Louisa Washburn earned bronze and silver in the pole vault. McLean closed out his Osprey career with a 4.81m vault.

Sunday

A lightning delay suspended all activities for a brief period before the running events on day two. This delay did not stop the momentum of the competitors.

Alyssa Young’s 1.71m high jump gave her a second place finish and pushed her to continue her season in the NCAA East Preliminary.

Meyer picked up where she left off to earn her second gold medal in the 5,000m.

In the short distance events, Vanessa Philbert continued her dominance in the 800m with a first place finish.

The women’s 4x400m relay team finished runner-up behind Kennesaw State with a time of 3:48.15. Philbert, Tianna Hearn, Morgan Rodriguez and Hallie Grimes made up the quartet. Hearn ended her career with personal best in the 400m and earned a third place finish in the 400m hurdles and fourth place in the 100m hurdles.

The men’s relay teams finished third in the 4x400m and fourth in the 4x100m. Desmond Robb grabbed second place in the 400m with a personal record of 47.79.

In the men’s 5000m, Hort and Tyler Stahl added silver and bronze for their performances. Stahl also had second place finish in the 1500m.

Stahl and Timm can be seen again in the NCAA preliminary for the 1,500m and 3000m Steeplechase.

The final standings saw North Florida finish third and Kennesaw State take home the top honors.

Final Team Standings

  1. Kennesaw State – 327
  2. Lipscomb – 131
  3. North Florida – 103
  4. NJIT – 59
  5. USC Upstate – 25

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