Following several rain delays, the Big Red Invitational finally began on Friday night at Denison University, albeit without a scorekeeping system. Despite this, the Kenyon track and field teams had an impressive showing with the men’s team picking up 13 individual top-10 finishes, including a victory in one event and the women’s team earning two top-five finishes and four additional top-10 positions.

For the men’s team, Riley Orth ’24 secured first place in the shot put with a season-best throw of 14.88 meters on his fourth attempt. Orth also placed sixth in the discus, just ahead of teammate Samuel Eluemunoh ’26. In the long jump, Dylan Fuerst ’24 placed seventh with a distance of 6.00 meters, while J’Sun Gardner ’26 claimed seventh in the javelin with a best throw of 33.80 meters.

Tapiwa Gono Phiri ’25 took on the 400-meter race, finishing fourth with a time of 51.74. Meanwhile, Collin Witt ’24 earned seventh place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.67 and fifth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.93. In the 400-meter hurdles, Noah Hopkins ’26 finished seventh with a time of 1:19.43.

In the 800-meter race, Kenyon had a strong showing with three top-10 finishers. Robert Enslein ’26 finished seventh in 2:01.72, followed closely by Jack Caine ’24 in ninth with a time of 2:05.46 and Dylan Sibbitt ’26 in 10th with a time of 2:07.80.

Caeleigh Stamper ’26 secured the best finish of the day for the women’s team by placing fourth in the 400-meter hurdles. Although it was her first time participating in the event at the collegiate level, she recorded an impressive time of 1:14.80. Grace Neuger ’24 secured the team’s other top-five finish, taking fifth place in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.79.

In the 100-meter dash, Talulla Sheridan ’25 sprinted to a seventh-place finish, clocking in at 13.85. Her teammate, Alina Secrest ’25, secured eighth place with a time of 14.32. Sheridan also participated in the 200-meter dash, finishing ninth with a time of 28.28. 

Jada Swearingen ’24 represented Kenyon in the long distance event, finishing eighth in the 1500-meter race with a career-best time of 5:29.74. 

Over the weekend, Erika Conant ’23 competed in the NCAC heptathlon. She finished fifth among nine competitors with a total of 3,296 points over the two-day event. This placement earned Kenyon four points towards its total in the 2023 NCAC Outdoor Track and Field Championship.

Conant’s best performance occurred on the second day’s first event, the long jump. She finished as the runner-up by recording a 4.90 meter leap on her first attempt. 

On the track, Conant earned a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles, sixth in the 800-meter race and seventh in the 200-meter dash with times of 17.34, 29.34 and 2:46.42, respectively. Her time in the 800-meter race was a personal best for both indoor and outdoor competition.

In the remaining field events, Conant placed fifth in the javelin throw, tied for fifth in the high jump and finished sixth in the shot put. She threw the javelin farthest on her second attempt, landing at 22.36 meters. She cleared 1.34 meters in her sixth attempt in the high jump, while her best shot put attempt was on her third try, where she threw 7.90 meters, setting a new outdoor career best.

Conant’s score of 3,296 points is a new personal best in the heptathlon, surpassing her sixth-place finish (3,266 points) last year.

On Saturday and Sunday at Oberlin College, Josh Greville ’26 competed in the decathlon, the precursor to the 2023 North Coast Athletic Conference Men’s Track & Field Championship, finishing sixth out of 11 competitors with a total of 4,970 points.

Greville’s performance earned the Owls three points, which will be added to their tally at next weekend’s championship hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University.

Out of the 10 events, Greville’s best performance was in the final event, the 1,500-meter run, where he finished second with a time of 4:58.40.

Prior to that, Greville achieved two more top-five finishes. On Saturday, he placed fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 53.52. On Sunday, he cleared 3.35 meters in the pole vault, earning him a fifth-place finish.

The men’s and women’s teams will next compete in the NCAC championship this weekend at Ohio Wesleyan University.