Over the weekend, the Kenyon men’s and women’s track and field teams divided and conquered, sending a majority of their athletes to the All-Ohio Championships in Delaware, Ohio, while a select group of Owls drove east to Bucknell University (Pa.) to compete against Division I foes at the Bison Outdoor Classic. 

At All-Ohio, the women took eighth place, while the men secured 12th, both in a field of 14 teams. At Bucknell, Charlie Blackmer ’28 had the Owls’ standout performance, demolishing the Kenyon record in the 1,500-meter race, which earned him NCAC Athlete of the Week honors. 

Women: Kenyon’s first points of the All-Ohio meet came from Noa Helmbrecht ’28, whose time of 12.84 in the 100-meter earned her fourth place. Helmbrecht tacked on a few more points shortly after in the 200-meter, taking sixth (26.09). Right behind her in seventh place was Lia Wahl ’29 with a time of 26.14. 

Ari Sobel ’28 had the Owls’ top finish of the day, as the sophomore claimed silver in the 400-meter after crossing the line in 58.70. Following in Sobel’s footsteps, Olivia Ide ’27 earned a podium finish, running the 5,000-meter in 18:19.46, good for third. 

Kenyon also earned a few points in the more complicated races. Addi Tober ’28 finished fifth in the 400-meter hurdles (1:08.87), while Lucie Prior ’28 took seventh in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (12:18.17), which both added to Kenyon’s point total. The Owls’ final addition to their tally came in the 4×100-meter relay, as Georgia Yaktrakis ’29, Wahl, Helmbrecht and Sobel combined to put up a time of 50.18, securing them fifth. The women’s team finished the two-day competition with 34 points to take eighth.

In Pennsylvania, Anna Brown ’26 represented the women’s team at Bucknell, finishing 22nd in a field of 148 runners in the 800-meter with a time of 2:13.30.

Men: Josh Greville ’26 got things started for the Owls at All-Ohio, finishing the 400-meter in 50.26, good for seventh place. In the longest event of the day, Josh Breard ’26 claimed fourth place in the 10,000-meter race (32:23.05). 

The men’s team also found success in the steeplechase, as Dylan Sibbitt ’26 earned sixth place with a time of 9:55.71. Kenyon’s final points on the track came in the 4×400-meter relay, with the team of Julius Thompson II ’26, Marius Mazeika ’28, Kudzaishe Mhere ’28 and Greville earning bronze (3:21.22).

The field events also yielded a few Kenyon points, as Ezekiel Kiwanuka ’26’s leap of 6.42 meters in the long jump earned him seventh and Graham Yeager ’28’s throw of 43.16 meters secured him fifth in the discus.

At Bucknell, Blackmer had an outstanding day, recording a new program record of 3:51.73 in the 1,500-meter. Blackmer’s time beat out the previous record, held by Aaron Emig ’04, by almost three seconds. While Colt Murphy ’26 (9:38.49) and Owen Rodstrom ’26 (9:31.05) did not set program records, both recorded personal bests in the 3,000-meter. Charlie Menzel ’28 rounded out the group with a personal best as well, finishing the 5,000-meter race in 15:27.08. 

Next on the docket for Kenyon is its annual home meet, the Duane Gomez Invitational, where the Owls will also celebrate Senior Day.