Rachel Levy, Staff Writer

After a three-week preparation period since the end of the indoor season, the Hornets Track and Field team finally had an outdoor competition on March 18 and 19, meeting the Washington & Lee Carnival in Lexington, Va.

Their numerous top ten finishes – and one top two finish – at the meet proved that all of their preparation was worthwhile. The men’s 4X100 meter team lost by less than a second to NCAA Division II school, East Stroudsburg University. They had a strong race, with a 43.71 second time, less than a second away from beating the school record set last season by the same four runners. During the winter season, three of the four of them also helped set the 4X200 meter indoor record.

Another strong showing for the men came from junior Ansel Borhauer, in the 400-meter run. Borhauer came in second for Division III runners, and fourth overall, with a time of 49.95 seconds, just beating the record he set last year.

The women also had a strong showing in Lexington, especially in throwing events. Danyelle McGrady and Morgan Smith took first and second in women’s hammers. McGrady threw a 45.10 meter to take first place, just short of her previous season school record. The women throwers didn’t end their top streak there: Laura Allen, Hannah Glover, and Danyelle McGrady took third, fifth, and sixth place, respectively, in the discus. The women throwers also had four top-ten finishes in javelin with Danyelle McGrady, Monica Baranko, Alana Meadows, and Brooke Hargeaves taking third, eighth, ninth, and tenth place, respectively.

The men and women’s track and field teams started their season strong, ranking well against other Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) teams in many of the events. If they keep up the good work, they’ll be able to have top ODAC finishes at the championships in April.

Feature photo courtesy of suhornets.com