Yellow Jackets Ready for HCAC Championships

DEFIANCE, OHIO -- The Defiance College track and field team is set to compete in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship meet in Terre Haute, Ind. on Friday, Apr. 27 and Saturday, Apr. 28, with several athletes set to be in contention for conference titles.

A pair of senior throwers highlight the Yellow Jacket women, as Hannah Williams (Swanton) and Brooke Waidelich (Pettisville) are set to finish in the top three in multiple events. Williams enters the hammer throw competition on Saturday as the top throw of the season thus far, at 47.30 meters (155 feet, 2 inches). Williams is also seeded third in the discus competition with a season-best toss of 39.70 meters (130 feet, 3 inches). Waidelich is also seeded second in that discus competition, along with her seventh place seed for the hammer.

Sophomore Madi Bowman (Eaton) is also seeded to score points in a pair of events, as she is seeded seventh in the discus and eighth in the hammer throw, while senior Cassidy Santen (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove North) enters the shot put competition with the sixth best throw.

Elsewhere in the field, freshman Meagan Trimpey (Bowling Green) enters the competition in a tie for the eighth seed with a best vault of 2.97 meters (9 feet, 9 inches).

Freshman Olivia Fett (Defiance) is also set to score points in the 800-meter run, after her 2:30.00 time at the All-Ohio Championships gave her the sixth-best time in the conference.

On the men's side, freshman Vince Jackson (Mason) enters Saturday's high jump competition as the favorite, as his jump of 1.93 meters (6 feet, 4 inches) is the best jump in the HCAC.

Elsewhere in the jumps, freshman Cody Drumm-Turner (Homer, Mich.) is seeded seventh in the triple jump, which is set to begin after the women's triple jump competition on Friday, is seeded seventh entering the day with a jump of 112.15 meters (39 feet, 10.5 inches).

The men's throwers are set to make another run of conference titles, as well, as senior Joshua Petro (Ocala, Fla./The Villages), junior Javier Castillo (Nogales, Ariz.), and junior Andrew Fahler (Wellington) enter the competition with top six seeds. Petro is seeded third with his 52.69 meter (172 feet, 10 inches) toss, while Castillo is seeded fourth and Fahler in sixth. Castillo is also seeded fifth in the discus competition on Friday, while freshman Matthew Downs (Rio Rico, Ariz.) is seeded in the seventh spot.

The HCAC Championships are set to begin at 3 p.m. on Friday, Apr. 27, while finishing up at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Apr. 28. Live results will be available all weekend, with live video set to be available for the finals on Saturday at the following links:

Live Results: http://athletics.rose-hulman.edu/sports/track/2017-18/releases/HCAC-Outdoor-2018

Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/indianasportsnetwork/