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Track & Field Jordan Nelson

Oakland Sweeps Steeplechase Gold as Teams Set Qualifiers for Sunday’s Finals in Busy Day Two

ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies and the rest of the Horizon League were up early as they started day two of the Horizon League Outdoor Track and Field Championships at 9 a.m.

While the early events included the finishes of the women's heptathlon and men's decathlon events, Oakland got their day started around noon as Elizabeth Rice and Jamie Giese competed in the women's shot put, where Giese used a powerful third throw, reaching a distance of 13.86m to earn bronze in the event.

Staying in the field, Alexa Messina placed top eight in the women's pole vault, surpassing a height of 3.55m to notch seventh place.

The next Golden Grizzly to reach the top of the podium was Alex Mansfield as Oakland had a strong showing in the men's shot put. Mansfield placed third in the event with a throw of 16.65m, while Romario Jackson placed fifth (15.65m), and Blake Foster (15.29m) in seventh.

Oakland moved to the track as they began a prelim-heavy final half of the day, setting the table for a busy final day on Sunday. To start off was the men's 110m hurdles prelims, where Jake Kaupp qualified for the finals on Sunday with a time of 15.38s.To get things started in the women's 100m hurdles prelims, Kylei Anderson qualified for the finals in her first championship meet race with a time of 14.25s. 

In the men's 100m prelims the lone Golden Grizzly in the event, Julian Bailey, made the final cut as he stopped the clock at 10.83s, while on the women's side Ke'vina Finch kicked off her first ever Horizon League Championship race by placing second in her heat with a time of 12.07 to qualify for the final.

Moving to the 400m race, both Justin Kudera (49.03s) and Justice Stewart (48.47s) qualified for Sunday's final as well. In the women's 400m hurdles, Grace Hungerford cruised to a second place position, timing at 1:03.13, securing her a spot in Sunday's final for the event.

Looking for more qualifiers, T.J. Brooks stamped his spot in the 800m prelims, kicking the section off with a dominant first place performance, clocking in at 1:53.52 in the top spot in heat number one. In the fourth and final heat of the event, Eddie Harrell III led wire-to-wire to win and qualify for the final with a time of 1:55.50. Abby Jackson did the same on the women's side, qualifying with a heat one win, finishing in 2:13.76. Brooke Hinkelman joined Jackson, punching her ticket to the finals as well in heat number two with a time of 2:16.22. Hannah Fisher (2:16.35) and Karenna Duffey (2:16.35) took the first and second spots in the final heat to earn their automatic qualifications as well.

Ke'vina Finch (100m and 200m) joined Hannah Fisher (1500m and 800m) as the only Oakland track athletes to qualify for two event finals, as Finch clinched a spot in the 200m finals with a time of 24.68s.

With the day winding down, the final event was the 3000m steeplechase, featuring Oakland athletes on both sides. In an electric performance, Wesley Hollowell clinched Oakland's third straight outdoor men's steeplechase title, crossing the line first at 9:07.65 to win the title and set his personal best time. Trey Plichta, 2023 steeplechase champion, placed eighth (9:36.65) to score Oakland some additional points on the day. Jennifer Ohlsson completed the Golden Grizzlies' first-place sweep of the event, keeping the lead for nearly the entire race as she was crowned first in the women's steeplechase with a time of 10:43.25, also a new personal best. Anne May also had an impressive showing, finishing seventh with a time of 11:20.40.

Heading into the final day Oakland men sit in fourth place with a total of 42 points, while the women sit in fifth place with 24.5 points.

The team is slated for a big Sunday, with the majority of track events coming that day. The final day of the meet will begin at 10 a.m.
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