Last weekend, the men’s and women’s track and field teams honored their senior athletes as they performed in their last home meet of the season. The rain and snow didn’t stop the Yeomen and Yeowomen from competing against The College of Wooster, Grove City College and a select number of athletes from Ashland University in this year’s Bob Kahn Invitational.

The Yeowomen gave an excellent per­formance in the 100-meter dash, sweeping the event with first, second and third place finishes from first-years Emily Kelly, Imani Cook-Gist and Ify Ezimora, respectively. Emily Kelly edged out her teammates with a winning time of 13.18 seconds, while Cook- Gist finished at 13.20 and Ezimora crossed the line at 13.84. Kelly also finished the af­ternoon by earning second place in the 200 with a time of 27.29.

Kelly said that improvement and con­sistency have been major themes for the 4×100-meter relay team this season.

“Over the past couple weeks, we’ve re­ally started to come together and build a rhythm,” Kelly said. “The answer isn’t sim­ply, ‘We all got faster.’ We have great team chemistry, and we all trust each other both on and off the track, and that really makes a difference for events where polished hand­offs can make or break your race.”

The Yeowomen claimed first through fourth place in the 1500, as senior Sarel Loewus made the most of her final home appearance, finishing with a sub-5-minute time. Loewus was the only runner to fin­ish with a time under 5 minutes, clocking in at 4:59.85. First-years Rosie Kerwin and Cameron Moss and sophomore Sarah Urso rounded out the top four, and junior Em­ily Curley continued the Yeowomen’s domi­nance, taking the 5000 in 18:33.96.

Assistant Coach Alisha Samuel said the Yeowomen have been practicing hard all season, and the team’s rigorous work ethic has paid off.

“The team has been practicing for some time, and so there is chemistry among the group,” Samuel said. “We put our fastest four girls on [our] 4×100 team, and we prac­tice a lot of handoffs. This way, we are ready to be a competitive bunch. The girls know what’s at stake in terms of getting into the fast heats for conference.”

The Yeomen also had a solid perfor­mance in the afternoon. Sophomore James Tanford and first-year John Olsen finished back-to-back in the 400. Tanford won the race with a time of 52.11 and Olsen came in second at 53.24. Junior Bradley Hamilton earned first place in the 800 with a time of 2:01.03, and first-year Grant Sheely com­pleted the 1500 with a time of 4:16.90 in his home debut.

Senior Samuel Coates-Finke earned a first-place finish of his own in the 5 kilome­ter race, with a time of 15:44.10.

Off the track and over in the field, the Yeowomen continued to excel. In the triple jump, sophomore Annie Goodridge leaped to a first place mark of 11 meters, while sophomores Monique Newton and Ana Richardson put on excellent performances in the women’s hammer, shot put and dis­cus. Newton and Richardson came up with 1–2 finishes in all three events, each ending with personal bests in the hammer throw. Newton threw a school record-setting mark of 47.43 meters, and Richardson followed suit with a toss of 47.36 meters.

Richardson said sticking to a committed practice regimen, both individually and as a team, ensures that she and her team feel prepared at every competition.

“I think the key to staying sharp and starting the season off well is both prac­tice and consistency,” Newton said. “As a team this year, we practiced basically every day of the school year, and as soon as I got back from indoor nationals, the next day I started practicing outdoor throws. As a re­sult, when I go to a meet, I never feel un­prepared or not ready because I know I’ve practiced and worked harder than any of my competitors.”

For the Yeomen, senior Nate Danko and first-years Daniel Muskasa and Jahkeem Wheatley finished top three in the men’s pole vault. Wheatley led the way with a height of 4.25 meters, while Danko earned a height of 4.10 meters in his final home meet.

The track and field teams return to the starting line on Saturday at the All-Ohio Championships in Delaware, Ohio, at 11 a.m.