BLACK MOUNTAIN — The St. Andrews University men’s and women’s track and field teams both competed at the AAC Championships at Montreat College recently and both came away with eighth place finishes.

Reinhardt University (Ga.) won the men’s title with 194 team points followed by Milligan College (Tenn.) in second. St. Andrews finished eighth with 16.5 team points. Union College (Ky.) won the women’s title edging out Tennessee Wesleyan University. The Lady Knights also finished in eighth place with 20 team points.

Junior Zack Castor and sophomore Eduardo Andrade led the Knights in the 800 meters. Castor finished fourth overall with a time of 1:57. Andrade finished 11th out of 22 runners with a time of 2:05.

Senior Michael Hare ran a quality 400 meters finishing in eighth place out of 30 runners with a time of 52.12 seconds. Hare also ran the 400-meter hurdles finishing in 12th with a time of 1:08. Fellow senior Chase Kopp ran the 10K securing 12th place with a time of 37:27. Freshman Caleb Calderon finished 17th in the 5000 meters with a time of 17:36.

Castor, Andrade, and Calderon all competed in the 1500-meter run. Castor was the first Knight to cross the finish line in 10th with a time of 4:20. Andrade finished 16th with a time of 4:31 and Calderon finished 20th with a time of 4:35.

On the women’s side, senior Claire Hopson, pictured, and junior Hannah Biddle finished 10th and 13th respectively in the 800 meters. Hopson’s time of 2:33 just missed the top eight while Biddle finished with a time of 2:36 for 13th.

Sophomore Nina Havelka finished sixth in the 100-meter hurdles in 18.17 seconds. Havelka also competed in the 400-meter hurdles and took fourth place with a time of 1:10.

In the field events, senior Kate Neidrick placed 13th in the discus throw with a mark of 22.17 meters. Neidrick placed fifth in the Javelin throw with a mark of 25.4 meters. The Lady Knights senior finished just five meters away from the top mark. On the men’s side in the field, freshman Nathan Smith tied for seventh in the triple jump with a mark of 13.1 meters.

In the relays, both the men’s and women’s 4×800 meter relay teams came away with fourth place finishes. The Lady Knights ran their race in 10:36 and consisted of Havelka, Biddle, Hopson, and Danaye Mokma. The Knights finished their race in 8:14 led by Andrade, Hare, Calderon, and Castor.

The women took sixth place in the 4×400 relay with a time of 4:51 led by the same four ladies. The men finished fifth in their 4×400 relay with a time of 3:28 and consisted of Andrade, Castor, Smith, and Hare.

Castor
https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_Zack-Castor.jpgCastor

Hopson
https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_Claire-Hopson.jpgHopson

By Troy Baranik

SAU Sports Information Director