It's no secret how much success Ashland University's track and field program's throwers have had – spanning decades, not just years.
That success continued on Saturday (April 30) at the seventh Ashland Alumni Open, as senior Jamie Sindelar's top women's shot put mark of 16.99 meters became the ninth-best distance in the history of NCAA Division II competition.
The first eight distances are owned by a former Eagle – Adriane Blewitt Wilson.
"Jamie's the No. 2 female shot putter in (Division II) history right now, and she'll take that," said Ashland head coach Jud Logan. "She'll be happy with that, but she doesn't care about distance here in a couple weeks. She wants to throw 17 meters, but more than that, she wants a national title."
Said Sindelar, "It felt pretty good. All my throws in general felt pretty good. It felt like I was getting closer to throwing further. The Alumni meet is always a great meet. It's always great to see alumni come back. It's always just a great atmosphere. It's a great experience every year.
"It's a pretty impressive list to be a part of. From everything I have heard, she was an amazing thrower. It's an honor to be a part of that list."
Junior Megan Tomei finished third in the women's shot put invite division at 15.27 meters, improving her provisional nationals mark by 0.82 meters.
Ashland finished with improved provisional times in both 4x100-meter relays. The women's team won in 46.35 seconds, setting a new school record (previously set in 1996) in the process, while the men's team won in 40.54.
"The highlight of the meet for me today was the men's and women's 4x1," Logan said. "We feel like, if we had any (good) weather at all, it's not even close, we are the fastest track in Ohio."
Senior Lauren Ellsworth won a pair of sprints, the women's 100 (12.19) and 200 (24.95) dashes, and freshman Myles Pringle crossed the line first in the men's 200 dash (21.78).
Pringle also took second in the men's high jump at 1.95 meters.
"If he's not the Freshman of the Year in the GLIAC, we did something wrong, because he's a special kid," Logan said.
In the men's 100 dash, senior Eric Thompkins (10.82) and freshman Brandon Wilson (10.84) finished 2-3. The same occurred in the men's shot put invite division with sophomore Elijah Talk (17.22 meters) and junior Jason Zahn (17.10).
Junior Cortney Haubert finished second in the women's 3,000 steeplechase (11:37.11), freshman Kala Strong was the runner-up in the women's shot put (13.38 meters), the women's 4x400 relay was second (4:04.51), senior Mikaela Bush was third in the women's 1,500 run (4:56.04) and freshman MacKenzie Leigh was third in the women's discus throw (43.14 meters).
Freshman Devin Snowden was second in the men's long jump (6.90 meters), Zahn was third in the men's discus invite division (51.47 meters) and the men's 4x400 relay team was third in 3:18.40.
Bernthisel, Knack Earn Provisional Times at Hillsdale
Late Friday at the 50th Annual GINA Relays in Hillsdale, Mich., senior Kylee Bernthisel earned a D-II provisional time in the 3,000 steeplechase, finishing in 10:55.74 and breaking her own school record (11:05.79) set in 2015.
Also at Hillsdale, senior David Knack took second in the 5,000 run, crossing the line in 14:06.56 and earning provisional nationals status.
The Ashland men and women now will turn their attention to the 2016 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships, Wednesday-Friday (May 4-6) in Big Rapids, Mich.
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