Point Park’s Track and Field Program began its 10th season this past week, and they did not disappoint.
On Sunday four Pioneers, junior Jannik Windelband and sophomores John Dyar, Gabe Ebersole and Joshua Gosselin, qualified for and competed in the NAIA Marathon in Sacramento, California. By the end of the marathon, they were the NAIA Marathon National Champions.
In order to qualify, they needed to log at least 12 consecutive weeks with 40 miles per week. They also needed to complete at least two runs of at least two hours in length before the deadline, and based on these two-hour timed runs, the rankings were established.
Windelband was ranked 12th coming into the marathon, posting an average of 6:05 per mile. Gosselin was ranked 19th with an average of 6:12, Dyar was ranked 26th with an average of 6:17 and Ebersole was ranked 40th at 6:29 per mile. The hard work certainly paid off for them, as they brought the NAIA Marathon National Championship home to downtown Pittsburgh.
Point Park’s track and field season actually began Friday when the Pioneers traveled out to Youngstown, Ohio to compete in the Youngstown State University Icebreaker. Coincidentally, this was the same location that Point Park Track and Field had its first ever meet on December 4, 2014. The Pioneers were able to have four NAIA national qualifiers and were able to break six school records.
The four Pioneers who were NAIA national qualifiers were Chevaughn Fletcher, Collins Eze, Emma Roemer and Akeem Mustapha.
Fletcher, a sophomore thrower from Jamaica, qualified for nationals and earned Point Park a first-place victory in the weight throw. He also broke his own school record from last year by four meters with a toss of 19.65 meters.
Senior Collins Eze qualified by placing second in the triple jump with a mark of 14.48 meters and eighth in the long jump.
Roemer, a freshman from Germany, earned a school record in the long jump, jumping 5.52 meters and qualifying for nationals in her own right.
Mustapha, a freshman from Harrisburg, Pa, placed sixth in the long jump with a distance of 7.03 meters, qualifying for nationals in his first career meet.
Diamond Rush, a junior from Detroit, set a school record, running a time of 25.83 seconds in the 200-meters, which was good for 16th place.
Kanye Mills, a freshman sprinter/hurler from Blackwood, New Jersey, set two new school records. He ran the 60-meter hurdles in 8.44 seconds and ran the 400-meter hurdles in 49.82 seconds, which made him just the second runner in school history to run under 50 seconds indoor or outdoor.
The men’s 4×400 relay also broke a school record, as Mills, Steve Bradley, Juan Barrera and Elijah James posted a time of 3:20.62 in the second heat.
Congratulations to the Point Park Track and Field Program on its 10th anniversary season, as well as for all of the success the Pioneers have already achieved through one weekend.
