New School Records, Multiple BIG EAST Medals Serve as Springboard for Track & Field
6/15/2020 2:00:00 PM | TRACK AND FIELD
The Blue Demons look to continue momentum heading into a new season this fall
CHICAGO —While the outdoor season was canceled, the Blue Demon men's and women's track and field teams were able to see the hard work of their preparation and training throughout the fall pay off during competition indoors.
A highly successful indoor season saw new school records, a handful of conference honors and a No. 12 USTFCCCA Midwest Region ranking for the men. At the Blue and Gold Invite, senior Adam Nelson (6.82) led the Blue Demons marking a first-place finish in the 60m dash to mark the first time the program record would be broken this season. Fellow senior Ashton Colaire flirted with the school's 60m hurdles record (8.12) for the first time with a time of 8.14.
Heading to Grand Valley State and competing in a field of over 1,300 competitors, current program record holder and BIG EAST outdoor champion Jade Gates updated her own record - for the first time this season - in the invite weight throw with an impressive 18.82m to finish third. Continuing success in the field, newcomers Mackenna Orie and Kindle Miles earned gold with a distance of 14.64m in the weight throw and a 12.36m shot put finish, respectively.
Starting off with dominating performances from the squad's track members, freshman Tori Carroll dominated the 60m dash, clocking a time of 7.74 to earn a spot atop the 67 other competitors. For the men, in his first race as a Blue Demon, Ben Lee set the program record in the 600m run with a time of 1:19.34. Colaire again earned first place in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.15 seconds.
Nine podium finishes, multiple new personal bests and an update to the record books capped off the performances at the Illini Invite at the UI Armory. Clocking in a time of 8.00 flat in the finals, senior Colaire updated the DePaul record books in the 60m hurdles after shaving off 0.16 seconds from his prelim time. No stranger to the podium, Gates' weight throw performance was good for gold measuring in at 18.52m. Isabel Ingram led the women on the track crossing the line at 8.59 seconds in the 60m hurdles to earn first place.
Approaching the halfway point of the season, the track and field teams continued to champion success at the annual Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Ind., as the Blue Demons saw two school records fall. Kyle Mastrangeli replaced the program record set earlier in the season by Nelson in the 60m dash with a time of 6.79 in the prelims. Gates once again marked a record book update in the weight throw competition. The St. Louis native, who also holds the program record in the hammer throw, launched an impressive 20.19-meter distance to update her record and widen her lead in the BIG EAST standings.
Leading into the penultimate meet of the indoor season, the men's squad debuted in the Top 15 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's Midwest Rankings at No. 14. In addition to Mastrangeli, teammates Henry Larkin, Colaire and Jason Montano led the conference in the 400m dash, 60m hurdles, and shot put, respectively.
Three program-record-holders bested their marks at the GVSU Big Meet in Allendale, Mich. Shaving off a few hundredths of a second, Mastrangeli's dominating performance earned him first place with a time of 6.75. Colaire's performance in the 60m hurdles updated his mark to an impressive 7.97. Continuing instant success in his Blue Demon uniform, Lee captured the title in the 800m run with a time of 1:50.00 flat.
After taking time to rest and fine tune performances, the Blue Demons traveled to the Buckeye State to compete in the 2020 BIG EAST Indoor Track & Field Championships. The final meet wrapped up a season that saw multiple new school records, three BIG EAST weekly accolades and a USTFCCCA Midwest Region ranking for the men.
Heading into the conference meet in Geneva, Ohio, 11 Blue Demon men and 13 DePaul women ranked within the top five among BIG EAST competitors in their respective events. For the men, Mastrangeli (60m), Larkin (400m), Colaire (60m Hurdles), Montano (shot put) and the 4x400 squad of Jarel Terry, Kolani Cole, Lee and Larkin hold the top spot in the league. For the women, current program record holder Gates led the conference in the weight throw and twice received the league's Field Athlete of the Week accolade. Freshman Carroll received the league accolade following her 5.76m performance in long jump that was good for first place at the GVSU Big Meet.
After numerous solid performances throughout the season, most notably at the Meyo Invitational, the DePaul men's track and field squad marked its highest ranking in the USTFCCCA Midwest Regional Rankings at No. 12. The distance quartet of Michael Parry, Lee, Jules Gueguen and Chris Ahlers also claimed a spot at No. 20 on the national #EventSquad Rankings for its 800m run performances.
Following two days of strong performances amongst high-level competition, the DePaul track & field team earned multiple trips to the podium, including six first-place finishes at the BIG EAST Indoor Track and Field Championships. The school records in the women's weight throw, women's shot put and men's 4x800m relay also fell at the competition held at the SPIRE Institute.
DePaul entered the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic training facility with high energy that jump-started day two of the conference meet. The first Blue Demon to bring home gold, Gates bested her school record on the first day of competition with a weight throw measuring 20.20m. The junior from St. Louis also made up one-half of the Women's Most Outstanding Co-Performer in Field Events honor that was shared with Niki Ezeh from Butler.
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Continuing success in the ring and updating the record books was freshman Orie in the shot put competition with a toss of 15.13m. Her toss replaced the previous record of 14.92m set in 2012 by Alanna Kovacs. Also earning spots on the podium for the women were: Terece Brown, 2nd in triple jump; Carroll, 2nd in 60m dash; Kiersten Walker, 2nd in 400m dash; Chasady Johnson, Rutendo Chimbaru, Isabel Ingram and Walker, 2nd in the 4x400 relay; Walker, 3rd in the 200m dash; Ingram, 3rd in the 60m hurdles; and Rebecca Chouinard, 3rd in the weight throw.
For the men's squad, the quartet of Ahlers, Shane Knanishu, Parry and Lee updated the DePaul indoor program record in the 4x800m relay with a time of 7:33.59. The previous record of 7:38.24 set by M. Clink, L. Junk, I. Sanchez and C. Miedema also in 2012. Bringing home gold championship medals were senior sprinters Colaire (50m hurdles) and Mastrangeli (60m dash) along with sophomore Larkin (400m dash) and freshman thrower Montano (shot put).
Also earning podium finishes for the men were: Nelson, 2nd in 60m dash; Terry, Brendan van Voorhis, Colaire and Larkin, 2nd in the 4x400m relay; Alex Murray, 3rd in weight throw; Nelson, 3rd in 200m dash; and Parry, 3rd in the 800m run.
Looking ahead, the Blue Demons hope to use the momentum from the indoor season as a springboard as they return to campus in the fall to prepare for the 2010-21 indoor and outdoor seasons.
Players Mentioned
