Anderson Secures Distance Medley Relay in Fred Wilt Invitational

The Anderson University men's track and field team put together a 4,000-meter distance medley relay team of Clayton Wilson, Kaid Hutchinson, Kaleb Gucinski and Ian Leatherman, which secured first place with a time of 11 minutes, 9.38 seconds during Saturday's Fred Wilt Invitational in Kardatzke Wellness Center.

"The guy's dialed it up," Coach Sol Stephens said. "The men ran a good DMR with a season-best time. Ian even finished it up with a 4:33 mile split, which is around the pace we were anticipating him to be at. That whole group in the DMR I'm pleased with."

Isaiah Lockhart sprinted to times of 7.51 seconds in the 60-meter dash prelims and 7.49 seconds in the 60-meter dash finals of 7.49 seconds. He earned third in the college division of the 200 with a time of 24.58 seconds.

"Isaiah ran well."

Will Winston charged to times of 7.54 seconds in the 60-meter dash prelims and 7.55 seconds in the 60-meter dash finals. He also cleared the bar at 3.05 meters (10 feet, 0 inches) in the pole vault.

"It was a surprising run for Will after coming off an injury."

Clay Meadows locked up first (23.81) in the college division of the 200.

Timothy Jackson Jr. clocked PR times in the 60-meter dash (7.63) and the 200 (25.31).

Kory Herget posted a time of 27.93 seconds in the 200.

"We have to 'A' keep our sprint guys healthy and 'B' get them in shape, but the first thing is getting healthy. We're still just going to be putting layer on layer, so that we are ready in two months for the showdown at Rose-Hulman."

Herget tied for fourth in the pole vault, clearing a height of 3.80 meters (12 feet, 5.5 inches).

Drew DeBoer claimed fifth in the shot put with a throw of 11.4 meters (37 feet, 4.75 inches). The Lafayette native tied for sixth in the weight throw with a PR distance of 11.71 meters (38 feet, 5 inches).

Zharquan White captured sixth in the shot put with a toss of 9.96 meters (32 feet, 8.25 inches). The senior from Kokomo tied for sixth in the weight throw with a distance of 11.71 meters (38 feet, 5 inches). White also raced to a 60-meter dash time of 8.99 seconds.

"I did well," White said. "I got my best placings of the years. I ran my first race in four years. I wanted to see how well I would do and I did pretty well. I did better than I thought I would do. I'm looking forward to outdoor."

Alphonso Blackwell finished seventh in the shot put with a distance of 9.41 meters (30 feet, 10.5 inches). The senior from Gary recorded a distance of 9.25 meters (30 feet, 4.25 inches) in the weight throw.

"I placed seventh, which is one of the best placings that I've had here," Blackwell said. "I did OK. It was not my PR, but it was close to it. Placing is always nice to have."

White and Blackwell are two of the seniors that closed out their indoor careers.

"[Saturday] went pretty well," White said. "It went well between being here throwing for the last time with everybody, being a four-year track person, having my second Senior Day of the year and doing well."

"[Saturday] was bittersweet of course," Blackwell said. "Being in the prestigious fieldhouse four years and getting honored with family and friends around made me feel good and I really appreciated that."

The meet was capped off with the 4x400 relay. Anderson was represented with three 4x400 relays, each in their own way. The varsity relay consisted of Gucinski, Wilson, Hutchinson and Leatherman. Anderson's alumni fielded a team with Nic Huffman, Emby Duncan, Tyler Barker and Jon Lugar. The Ravens also put together a coaching staff 4x400 consisting of assistant track and field coaches Aaron Ward, Dalen Beck, Presley Martin as well as head tennis coach Bryant Beard. Anderson's alumni placed fourth with a time of 4:10.33. The varsity relay edged the coaches relay by just 0.05 seconds. Anderson's varsity relay captured second (3:49.88) while the coaches relay claimed third (3:49.93). "All in all, it was a great day for the Ravens," Coach Sol Stephens said. "We had still had some good performances coming off the emotional high and toughness it takes to survive through the conference meet and then come back a week later and dial it up. It's a good sign for where we are trainingwise mentally and physically."

Seniors Hutchinson and Letherman also closed out their indoor careers.

"It's bittersweet for me because I've always enjoyed indoor," Hutchinson said. "Indoor is probably my favorite season. I remember as a freshman looking at the seniors do this exact same thing and thinking that is so far away, but now we're here. I've always love indoor and I'm glad that for my last 4x400 race that was indoor that we got to have some fun and racing the alumni and coaches teams, so I'm satisfied with how it turned out as well."

"It was great to get to do some we things we normally don't get to do and it was a lot of fun to race against the coaches," Leatherman said. "That was probably one of the highlights in my four years here. It hasn't really hit me that this was our last indoor meet, but it was a good way to go out."

Stephens looks highly at the 2020 senior class of what they have accomplished and will become in the future.

"They have been with me since Day 1," Stephens said. "Between those guys, we have literally shed blood, sweat and tears. They will always have a special place. I'm looking forward to seeing how they grow up, how they develop into men, into fathers, into husbands, into that positive productive member that is about service and leadership coming from this esteemed university. It has been a blessing to work with those guys these four years. It's been a good thing."