Ryan Williams’ victory led the AU track and field teams at the Maryland Invitational March 31 in College Park, Md.
The win helped the Eagles total 24 points, which was good for sixth place out of nine teams.
Octavia Rinehardt paced the AU women, who placed seventh after posting 12 points on the afternoon.
Williams runs to top finish in 5,000
Out of 22 competitors in the 5,000-meter run, Williams crossed the finish line first to pick up 10 points for the Eagles. Williams completed the course in 14:49.62 to take home the title, with Navy’s Alexander Merrall coming in second at 15:11.05.
The men’s squad nearly had two individual winners, with Mark Leininger finishing second in the 3,000-meter run. Leininger posted a time 8:38.70, finishing just behind race winner Brandan McGee (8:37.49).
The third top-10 finisher for the Eagles was John Pope, who came in seventh in the 1,500-meter run. The sophomore finished with a time of 3:58.29 and added three points to the team’s score.
Navy cruised to the victory in the team competition, as the Midshipmen finished with 244 points. The Mids outscored second-place Temple by over 100 points.
Three Top-10 finishers for women’s team
A standout senior, Rinehardt’s performance in the 3,000-meter run led the way for the Eagle women. Rinehardt’s third-place finish (10:06.63) accounted for six of the squad’s 12 points.
Joining Rinehardt in posting top-10 results were Ali Tyburski and Julia Sullivan.
Coming off a strong third-place finish in the 1,500-meter run last weekend at the Navy Invitational, Tyburski crossed the finish line in fourth place in the same event at Maryland. Sullivan ended the race in 10th place, just missing out on picking up a point for the Eagles.
Coming off a program record final jump of 4.73 meters in last week’s long jump event, Alexa Bolden returned as the lone field competitor for the AU women this week. At Maryland, Bolden registered a 14th-place finish in the long jump.
The women’s team standings mirrored the men’s, with Navy winning the team title and Temple earning second-place honors. The margin of victory was tighter in the women’s competition, with Navy prevailing 206.50-179 over the Owls.
The track and field teams will return to action for the Colonial Relays April 6-7 in Williamsburg, Va. The relays start off a busy month for the Eagles, with four meets scheduled in April.
ttomea@theagleonline.com
