Eagle Men, Women Continue To Pile Up Nationals Marks To End Jud Logan Light Giver Open

The second and final day of the third Jud Logan Light Giver Open indoor track and field meet continued to showcase Ashland University's No. 12-ranked men and Eagle women, as provisional marks toward the 2024 NCAA Division II Championships, March 8-9 in Pittsburg, Kan., piled up once again on Saturday (Feb. 3).
 
Winning their respective events and improving upon previous nationals efforts were senior T.J. Skinner in the men's 60-meter hurdles (7.87 seconds) and redshirt freshman Hailey Rios in the women's long jump (5.86 meters/19-feet-2¾).
 
"It felt amazing," Skinner said. "I still have plenty of room to work on some things form-wise, but the speed is definitely there. Looking forward to getting back to it.
 
"Home crowd – everybody's here, family's here. It felt special doing it here, for sure."
 
Senior Emma Liberatore won the women's high jump with a new provo of 1.70 meters/5-feet-7.
 
Junior Mia Gardner was second with an improved provo time of 56.08 seconds in the women's 400 dash elite, while third-place showings with nationals marks came from junior D.J. Duncan in the men's 60 hurdles (improved, 7.90 seconds), junior Noah Wood in the men's 400 dash elite (new, 48.36 seconds), sophomore Daylen Madison in the men's 800 run (improved, 1:51.27), and Elmar Schutte in the men's pole vault (new, 4.95 meters/16-feet-2¾).
 
Senior Elizabeth Adams took fifth with a new provo time of 56.77 seconds in the women's 400 dash elite. Freshman Odessa Smith earned a new provo in the preliminaries of the women's 60 hurdles at 8.83 seconds, then finished third in the finals in 8.84 seconds.
 
Then, to end the meet, the men's 4x400 relay quartet of Wood, freshman Colton Thress, senior Brenden Jackson and junior Jacob Pielech moved up the D-II charts with an improved provo of 3:12.95 in a third-place finish.

• Freshman Justin Patrick won the men's shot put at 16.19 meters/53-feet-1½, and junior Catherine Dial took the women's shot put at 13.58 meters/44-feet-6¾.
• Fifth-year Cassandra Ponzi was second in the women's 800 run (2:15.70), and senior McKenna Woodruff took third (2:17.57).
• Redshirt freshman Molly Winner was third in the women's shot put elite at 14.33 meters/47-feet-0¼.

 
UP NEXT
Ashland's men and women will go to the Grand Valley State Big Meet on Friday (Feb. 9), and to a meet at Spire on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 10).