GREENCASTLE, Ind. – The Franklin track and field teams continued the indoor season on Friday (Feb. 7) night, taking part in the 2020 Tiger Small College Invitational, hosted by DePauw University.
It was another week that saw several Grizzlies set new personal best and season best marks in their respective events. The Franklin men placed seventh overall while the women claimed an eighth-place finish.
Senior Sarah Miller claimed season-best times in a pair of sprint events, earning a pair of top-five finishes. The Boggstown, Ind.-native started off the night by advancing to the finals of the 60-meter dash, where she claimed fifth overall with a time of 8.49 seconds. Later in the night, Miller claimed third place in the 200-meter dash with a time of 28.22 seconds, knocking nearly one second off her previous season-best time.
Freshmen Farrah Young and Lex Desenberg both set new PRs in the 400-meter run with Desenberg taking eighth place in 1:07.13 and Young finishing one spot behind in 1:07.39. Fellow newcomer Janae Johnson advanced to the finals of the 60-meter hurdles, where she set a new PR in 10.41 seconds to earn fifth-place overall.
Other Grizzly women to set new PRs on Friday night included Angelina Gregory in the 800-meter (2:32.98), Taylor Wooten in the mile (5:46.35) and Amanda McKinney in the shot put (9.46m).
For the Franklin men, sophomore Michael Heading and freshman Jaycee Wilburn placed third and fourth overall in the 800-meter run. Heading claimed a new season-best with a time of 2:02.03 and Wilburn's time of 2:02.06 set a new personal record.
Senior Clayton Brumfield took sixth place in the mile run with a jaunt of 4:30.08, which is a season best. Freshman sprinter JP Osafo matched his season PR in the prelims of the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.33 seconds. Freshman Nick Patton would add a sixth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.04 seconds.
Both of Franklin's male relay teams had strong showings on Friday night. In the 4x200-meter relay, Patton, Osafo, Zach Roberts and Dillon Hankins claimed second with a time of 1:36.70. Heading, Wilburn, Henry Davidson and Sam Erickson closed the event by taking fourth in the 4x400-meter relay in 3:42.78.
Sophomore Zak Wiley put together a strong showing in the weight throw, taking fifth overall with a toss of 14.38 meters. Making his indoor season debut, fellow sophomore Evan Hosea set a new PR in the same event with a throw of 13.09 meters, taking 15th place.
The indoor season continues on Saturday, Feb. 15, when the Grizzlies head back to DePauw for the Tiger Invitational. Start time is set for 11:00 a.m.
