INDIANAPOLIS --- Getting strong performances across the board the Bellarmine women's indoor track & field team was able to defend their title by capturing the 2013 Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship on Sunday. The men's team also had numerous outstanding performances in taking 5th place.
On the women's side, Bellarmine made a clean sweep of the postseason awards with Angela Musk being named GLVC Runner of the Year, Meghan Jones was named Athlete of the Year, Kaysee O'Bannon picked up Freshman of the Year honors, and Jim Vargo was named the league's Coach of the Year.
Bellarmine held off host UIndy for the women's team title by winning five individual events and both relays. Musk and Jones were responsible for all five of the individual wins with Musk taking home the 800m and 1 mile titles while Jones was best in show in the 200m, 400m, and high jump.
Jones ran the anchor leg of the 4x400m relay with Tori Goodwin, Madison Roark, and Kristin Hamrick joining the junior from Greenville, Ind. The distance medley relay, which won the event last year on their way to All-America honors at NCAA's, was made up of Maggie Wagner, Roark,Jenna Lee, and Musk.
But the title was not won on first place finishes alone as the Knights showed superior depth during the two-day meet. Wagner, Lee, and Roark took home 3rd, 4th, and 5th respectively in the 800m while Nora Bowe and Hayden Kelly backed up Jones in the high jump by finishing in 3rd and 4th.
Meanwhile, O'Bannon notched 3rd place finishes in the 60m and 200m on her way to being named the top freshman in the GLVC.
Heptathlete Ben Kolb was the only individual winner for the men's team, amassing 5040 points to shatter his own previous school record of 4604. Kolb won three of the seven events and placing 2nd in two others to win the heptathlon by over 400 points.
The men's DMR relay also took home the win in their event, shattering the previous GLVC record, set last year by
ellarmine, by over nine seconds with a time of 1:03.17. Nathan Dotterweich, Sean Klosterman, Jared Findlater, and Robert Sandlin, Jr. made up the team which posted a NCAA provisional cut in the process.
Sandlin had two other top-5 finishes, crossing the line 5th in the 3000m and 3rd in the 1 mile.
Jonathan Neff led the field athletes for the men's team, finishing 5th in both the shot put and weight throw.
Both teams will now have to await word from the NCAA to see if any Knights are invited to the NCAA Championships held in Birmingham, Ala. on March 8-9. The indoor season has been a successful one to say the least with a record number of athletes from both squads earning NCAA provisional cuts.