With one week until the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships, the men's and women's track and field teams got one last tune up Friday evening at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's Twilight Meet.
Led by a pair of individual wins, the women claimed second place out of 11 squads. DePauw's men also had several strong performances and finished seventh overall.
Sophomore Noah Droddy led the men with a provisional qualifying performance in the 5,000-meter run. He clocked a time of 14:44.96 to finish third.
"I knew it was going to be a fast race," Droddy said. "I ran 40 seconds faster than I ever had before, so I'm really excited to be able to break out like that."
Senior Nick Pucillo also paced the Tigers with his third-place showing in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:06.99). Senior Robert Steele took fifth in the 400-meter dash (50.18), while junior Bobby Dvorscak finished fourth in the long jump at 6.19 meters (20-3.75).
In the 3,000-meter run, freshman Stu Newstat notched a sixth-place finish with a time of 9:07.96. Nick White, also a freshnman, came in sixth in the 400-meter hurdles (57.48).
DePauw's 4x100-meter relay team of Steele, sophomore Myron Burr, senior Steve Wojanis and junior Charles Pierre finished second with a time of 43.11 seconds.
The Tigers totaled 42.5 points to take seventh place out of 11 participating squads. Wabash College won the meet with 177 points, while host Rose-Hulman took second with 157 points. Greenville College (Ill.) scored 118 points to come in third.
On the women's side, sophomore Brittany Sievers started off the meet for the women with a win in the discus throw at 35.79 meters (117-5). Sophomore Kathleen Molloy was also a winner, finishing first in the 400-meter run at 1:00.26.
Molloy also took second in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:50.76. The sophomore, who is also a member of the women's basketball team, is in her first season of track at DePauw.
"I was nervous about because I ran in high school but I didn't know if my times would be what they used to," Molloy said. "I really like the team and I just enjoy running. I'm happy with how I've been performing."
In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, senior Laura Ardington claimed second with a time of 13:25.59 and sophomore Emily Freiny finished right behind her at 13:32.77. Sophomore Tamesha McGuire took fourth in the 100-meter dash at 13.15 seconds, while sophomore Jess Macy and freshman Siri Retrum finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 3,000-meter run. In the 200-meter dash, sophomore Chenae White finished third at 27.44 seconds.
DePauw was successful in the field events as well, as junior Sam Wong placed second in the triple jump at 10.0 meters (32-9.25) and third in the long jump at 4.68 meters (15-4.25). Sophomore Chelsea Courtney took second in the high jump at 1.52 meters (4-11.75) and freshman Jillian Balser tied for fourth in the pole vault at 2.80 meters (9-2.25).
The 4x100-meter relay squad of McGuire, White and seniors Jackie Boehmler and Schavel Morrison placed second with a time of 50.34.
The Tigers scored 119.5 points to finish second, while Washington University-St. Louis won the meet at 223 points and Hanover College scored 90 points to come in third.
With the Rose-Hulman meet behind them, Droddy says the Tigers can now focus on preparing for the SCAC Championships, which begin Friday in Memphis, Tenn.
"This is kind of the pinnacle of the track season," he said. "If we all come together and all the different squads – the throwers and the sprinters and the distance team – if we all have the best meet we can, I think we should have a chance to do pretty well."