Pair of DC Records Fall at DePauw Indoor Qualifier

GREENCASTLE, Ind. – The Defiance College track and field team set two school records at the DePauw Indoor Qualifier on Friday, March 6, adding to its ongoing reconstruction of the DC record book. The Jackets had a number of event winners at the meet, which did not record team scores.

Emily Cole highlighted another great meet for the women, breaking the pole vault record she set only a week earlier. The sophomore cleared 9-06.25 to win the event while Courtney Lantz finished fourth.

Marlea Rolander came within two tenths of a national qualifying time in the 55m hurdles, crossing the line in a personal-best time of 8.69 to win the event. Kristin Goldstein ran the best 55m dash of her career, running a personal-record time of 7.59 to finish second. The junior finished two spots ahead of Rolander, who was fourth with a career-best time of 7.94.

DC throwers Samantha Higdon and Amanda Tooley each placed in the top-six in both the shot put and the weight throw. Tooley (37-08.00) was fourth in the shot put, finishing two places ahead of Higdon, who recorded a personal-best toss of 36-02.25 in the event. The two swapped places in the weight throw, as Higdon finished fourth while Tooley placed sixth.

The Jackets got a pair of solid performances in the distance events, as Kaitlin Switzer (20:00.17) finished second in the first indoor 5k of her career while Kelly Neff set a personal-record in the 800m with a time of 2:37.74.

Fairview High School product Justin Perkins broke his second record of the 2009 Indoor season to lead the men's squad, eclipsing Bob Semple's 34-year old record with a time of 4:33.30 in the mile. Ryan Perry was the lone event winner for the men's team, topping all competitors in the 55m dash with a time of 6.63. Trey Harris finished two places behind Perry in the 55m, crossing the line in 6.72 on his way to third place while Phil Williamson rounded out a trio of Jackets in the event with an eighth-place finish.

Jordan Weber earned a handful of top-five finishes, placing third in the 55m hurdles, fourth in the long jump and fifth in the triple jump. Brad Zarembski cleared 6-04.25 on his way to a fourth-place finish in the high jump, edging out teammate Austin Trivett (eighth). Trivett cleared 13-05.25 in the pole vault to finish fourth, while Blake Witherspoon also recording a fourth-place finish with his time of 51.89 in the 400m dash.

Danny Rodriguez and Andrew Baker also had top-eight finishes for Defiance. Rodriguez was seventh in the weight throw with a toss of 38-05.00, while Baker finished eighth in 800m with a time of 2:05.50.

The Jacket will take a week off, before hosting the Dick Small Invitational on March 21 to open up the 2009 outdoor season. The meet is scheduled to get underway at 10:00 a.m.