Houghton successfully hosted their first indoor track meet, the Highlander Invitational, on January 24 at the Kerr-Pegula Field House (KPAC) with six schools and about 300 athletes in attendance. They also hosted the Highlander Open/Multi-Event Indoor Track and Field meet on January 30 and 31. The KPAC has an eight lane track, which allows for events to be finished quicker than on a standard six lane track. Senior, Enrico Sukhdeo, believes “[the KPAC] gives the college a lot of exposure for recruits.” Athletic Director, Skip Lord said, “Having this new facility will grow the track program’’ and “[we] intentionally kept this year’s meets smaller because it is the first time in new facility and [we] want to make sure that we are prepared to run them efficiently and smoothly and give people a good experience.”
Head coach, Patrick Hager said, “We had talked all week to the team about the fact that their performances might increase just based on the fact that they’re at home.” Many fans supported their fellow Highlanders at the Highlander Invitational, who competed exceptionally well as a team earning 13 indoor wins, ten personal bests, four second places, and three NCCAA national qualifiers. The Highlander athletes that have qualified for NCCAA nationals are Marshall Brady in the long jump (6.16 meters), Nikki Garns in 800 meter run (2:26:49), and Cara Davenport in the 5000 meter run (20:03:31). Sophomore, Marshall Brady said, “It’s a tremendous blessing to have the KPAC” and “everyone got a chance to invite their friends and to compete not only for themselves but for the sake of others.” Notable performances came from Jordan Cady, who finished second in the triple jump (12.47 meters), Enrico Sukhdeo who took third in the 60 meter dash (7:34), and Andrea Melhorn who took second and third in the shot put (10.17 meters) and weight (13.42 meters). Senior, Andrea Melhorn, believes the KPAC is the “start of something new, something good” and “the growth that’s gonna come from it is really exciting.”
Some colleges in attendances at the Highlander Open/Multi-Event Indoor were Mansfield University, Alfred University, Alfred State, and Messiah College. On Friday and Saturday there was a heptathlon, a seven event contest, and a pentathlon, a five event contest. Senior, Savannah Doviak, set a new school record in the 300 meter run with a time of 44:43, which was almost one second faster than the previous record. Doviak, said, “Each week we set the bar higher and have higher expectations for ourselves” and “[the KPAC] is a big deal for the track team and Houghton.”
Both men and women accomplished the track and field team’s second goal of the meet, to get one facility best. Nikki Garns won the 600 meter run in 1:41:98 and the 4×200 meter relay team of Doviak, Nikki Garns, Kate Taggart, and Fiona Daloia won the race in 1:50:72. For the men, Jordan Cady took first in the long jump with 5.90 meters, giving the men their first win in the new facility and Jon Lewis finished in fifth place in the 600 meter run (1:29:00). The success of the meet could benefit Houghton in addition ways, such as an increase in enrollment. Doviak said, “[I] talked to recruits who said that after seeing the meet and the facility that they put Houghton as their first choice.”
The track and field team has several goals for their season, some of which include a team GPA of 3.0 or higher, to be Empire 8 Conference Champions at Houghton, and to make it to the NCCAA finals. Hager said, “I want [athletes] to perform [their] best at the end of the season.” The women’s goal is to place fourth in the Empire 8 Conference, and the men’s is to get a certain amount of points to qualify for the Men’s National Meet. On February 14, Houghton is hosting the Empire 8 Conference Championships, fellow students are encouraged to show attend and show support.