Women’s and men’s track and field teams finish in seventh- and fifth-place at MIAA Jamboree

The Olivet College women's and men's track & field teams finished in fifth- and seventh-place, respectively, at the first-ever True Team Scoring Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Jamboree, which was held at Alma College's Bahlke Field.

The Comet women scored 291.50 points, which was just 1.50 points ahead of sixth-place Adrian College. The Olivet men had 327.50 points. Calvin College took first-place for both the men and women.

The women's team highest individual finish was by Ellen Schulz (Freeland) in the long jump. She had a 15 feet, 3/4 inch leap to place fifth.

Schulz also ran a leg of both the fifth-place 4x100 and 4x400 relays. Joining her on the 4x100 relay was Bridget Holtz (Union/Constantine), Megan McCarty (Battle Creek/Harper Creek) and Christine Moulton (Royal Oak/Royal Oak Shrine) for a time of 53.84 seconds. The 4x400 relay consisted of McCarty, Schulz, Sarah Caldwell (Bronson) and Laura Markin (South Lyon), and they crossed the finish line 4:52.42.

Brandon Kimble (Kentwood/East Kentwood) was the top men's finisher, placing second in the long jump with a 22 feet, 3/4 inch leap. He was also sixth in the high jump, clearing the bar at 6 feet, 3/4 inches. Blake Walters (Olivet) had a 152 feet toss in the javelin to finish in third-place, only 10 inches less than the first-place finisher.

Olivet's 4x100-meter relay team of Pat Clasgens (Livonia/Stevenson), Joe Cleveland (St. Joseph), Jordan Dornan (Bangor) and Vince Hanna (Marshall) was fifth in 44.01 seconds.

The Comets return to action next Saturday, April 19, at the Northwood University Invitational.

NOTE: True Team Scoring is a unique scoring method that awards points to every participant in an event. This method makes every event important to every team and provides a more accurate reflection of how teams, from top to bottom, stack up against each other.

Today's results counted toward half of the MIAA seasonal standings and were scored using the following method: Individual Event Scoring: three participants from each of the seven MIAA schools provide for 21 competitors in each event, thus points were handed out from 21-1 in descending order; i.e. 1st place 21, 2nd place 20, etc. Relays were scored in a likewise manner, points being awarded from 42-6 in increments of six; i.e. 1st place – 42, 2nd place 36, etc.