Zach Elmore, Andrew Althouse Lead Men's Track/Field to Open MIAA Field Day

by Dena Meiste

Zach Elmore clears the bar in the pole vault. Senior Andrew Althouse and sophomore Zach Elmore highlighted action for the Hope College men's track and field team on Thursday. The duo each achieved podium performances on the opening day of the MIAA Field Day hosted at Alma College.

Only five events were scored on day one, as mostly preliminary races were run. The Flying Dutchmen tallied 19 points to enter the final day in fifth place.

Althouse (Ludington, Michigan / Ludington) landed in third place in the shot put finals to score six points. The senior unleashed a career-best throw of 14.57 meters (47 feet-9 ½ inches), a full two-and-a-half feet farther than his previous personal record.

Noah Russo (Grand Rapids, Michigan / East Grand Rapids) added to Hope's cause in the shot put with a seventh-place distance of 13.42 (44-¼) meters for two points.

Elmore, a native of Cadillac, Michigan (Cadillac) earned another six points with his third-place performance in the pole vault. The sophomore cleared 4.00 meters (13-1 ¼).

With a height of 3.90 meters (12-9½), senior Barry Bait (Granville, Ohio / Granville) finished just behind Elmore in fourth place to add five points to the team total.

Photo of Zach Elmore by Lynne Powe

In the prelims, Hope landed three finalists in both the 800 meters and 400-meter hurdles.

David McHugh (Whitehall, Michigan / Reeths Puffer) qualified first overall (1:58.35) in the 400-meter hurdles.

Nathan Woolum (Mattawan, Michigan / Mattawan) and Chris Stamatopolous (Wheaton, Illinois / Wheaton-Warrenville South) also advanced to Friday's final round. Woolum clocked a 58.29 to place second in his heat and third overall, while Stamatopolous snagged the final spot with an eighth-place time of 1:00.83.

In the 800-meter prelims, Nick Hoffman (Holland, Michigan / Holland) won his heat and qualified with the second-best time overall (1:58.35). Eli Meder (Williamston, Michigan / Lansing Catholic) and Drew Dow (Bridgman, Michigan / Bridgman) posted the fourth- and sixth-best times, respectively, to earn spots in the finals.

Also advancing out of the preliminary rounds were:

Nathan Trumble (Granger, Indiana / Trinity School at Greenlawn) – 200, 400 meters
Jackson Player (San Antonio, Texas / Winston Churchill) – 110-meter hurdles
Benjamin Lentz (Charlevoix, Michigan / Charlevoix) – 400 meters

The MIAA Field Day concludes on Friday, May 7 with the finals of the remaining events and relays.

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