by Dena Meiste
The Hope College men's track and field team took third place at Albion College's Spring Thaw Invitational. Sophomore Nathan Woolum, pictured, paced the Flying Dutchmen with three top-five finishes, including a win in the 400-meter hurdles.
As a team, Hope placed third overall behind 98 points. Albion won its home meet with a tally of 188, followed by Olivet with 127 points.
Woolum (Mattawan, Michigan / Mattawan) led the way in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking the only sub-1-minute time of any racer with a new career-best mark of 58.14. Teammate David McHugh (Whitehall, Michigan / Reeths Puffer) finished runner-up behind a time of 1:00.05.
Nathanial Trumble (Granger, Indiana / Trinity School At Greenlawn) earned a pair of podium finishes in the individual events. The junior's best finish came in the 200 meters, where he placed second behind a time of 22.16. He clocked an 11.47 in the 100 meters; good enough for third place.
In the 400 meters, Drew Dow (Bridgeman, Michigan / Bridgeman) collected a second-place result after crossing the finish line at the 51.15 mark. Tyler Arntz (Saint Francis High School) also landed in the top-five, completing his lap around the track in 52.74.
Woolum, Down, McHugh and Trumble combined in the 4x400 meter relay to produce a runner-up result. The quartet clocked a season-best time of 3:22.73.
Jonathan Outen, Brett Slayton and Jackson Player all reached the podium in their respective events to help the Dutch's cause. Outen, a graduate of Hackensack High School, placed third in the 800 meters (2:04.40), while Slayton took third in the 5,000 meters (16:35.55).
Player (San Antonio, Texas / Winston Churchill) paced Hope in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 16.08. Woolum finished just behind him in fourth place behind a time of 17.96.
Leading the way in the field events was senior Andrew Althouse. The Ludington, Mich. native earned a trio of top-five finishes, including fourth-place results in both the shot put (13.70m) and discus (39.70m). He rounded out his day with a fifth-place effort in the hammer throw, stretching the tape to 40.65 meters.
The team returns to competition on April 16-17 with the Al Owens Classic, hosted by Grand Valley State University.
