by Tiara Pajimola
Women’s track
Sophomore Christina Dobbins helped lead Whitworth to an overall win at the eighth annual Sam Adams Meet last Saturday with a team score of 73.5. Dobbins won the long jump with a distance of 17-5 1/4, the high jump with a clearance of 5-2 1/2, and was part of the winning 4×400 relay team crossing at 4:15.80.
Dobbins felt good about her performances and those of her team despite the weather they encountered.
“For the most part I actually felt we got pretty lucky because right when the meet ended it started to rain a lot harder,” Dobbins said. “Everyone did really well and stepped up and competed regardless of the weather.”
Dobbins remains fifth in the national rankings for the high jump.
Freshman Kerry Wright was among the four individuals who won their respective events. Wright threw a 137-11 to win the javelin.
“It was a little windy so it didn’t help when throwing the javelin,” Wright said. “For the most part it was decent compared to what we thought it was going to be so it was good.”
When it came to the overall team performance, Wright was pleased with their effort.
“We came out to compete and I think we are all ready for conference,” Wright said.
Wright remains at the No. 1 position in the national ranking for javelin at the Division III level.
Freshman Maddye Dinsmore was also a part of the winning 4×400 relay.
“I feel like [our performance] was a big step in the right direction,” Dinsmore said. “We all went out very powerful against Gonzaga and we had good splits.”
Dinsmore was also content with her own performances as well as her team’s overall performance.
“I think we did a great job given the weather,” Dinsmore said. “We got a lot of [personal records] and school records and national marks so it was awesome.”
The women will continue this Saturday, April 13, at World War #5 hosted by Spokane Falls Community College.
Men’s track
Senior Carter Comito broke his own school records at the eighth annual Sam Adams Classic last Saturday leading Whitworth to an overall win with 87 points. Comito competed in the opening field events while the sun was out and before the sideways rain, hail, wind began.
“I threw early in the day and it was really sunny so it wasn’t too bad when I competed,” Comito said. “I felt really good.”
Comito’s previous record in discus was set at the Buc Scoring Invite with a throw of 193-1. He broke that by more than 10 feet throwing 203-5.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve had a [personal record] in discus so I was very happy,” Comito said.
Comito took first place in both shot put (58-6 3/4) and discus. He holds both school and track records and remains first in the national rankings. He hopes to build upon his early success later in the season when it counts, he said.
Also contributing to the team success were the five other individuals who won their events. Freshman Nate Stenson cleared 6-6 in high jump, sophomore Joseph Green cleared 15-1 in pole vault, and sophomore Chase Wright threw 207-5 in the javelin. Junior Keegan Shea won the hammer event and senior Steve Acosta claimed Whitworth’s sole track win in the 800-meter race.
Shea competed in the hammer and not only won the event, but broke his previous record set earlier this month at the Buc Scoring Invite. Shea threw 195-7 and is now positioned in third place in the Division III national rankings.
“It felt great,” Shea said. “It’s something that I’ve been working on for a while.”
Shea said he competed in one of the few opportunities while the sun was out.
“There was about a 10-minute window of sun and that was when I had my good throw,” Shea said.
Weather conditions the team endured didn’t have a major impact on their performance and drive.
“I think that’s one thing we do really well as a team; we control the things we can control and the rest is whatever,” Shea said. “I thought everybody did really well not letting [the weather] get to them.”
Acosta crossed the finish line in first for the 800-meter run with a time of 1:56.36.
“I felt good under the conditions,” Acosta said. “I’m usually a pretty strong finisher but I had a bigger kick than usual in that race because I had a slower first half. However the weather didn’t change how I prepared for it.”
Whitworth will compete in World War #5 at Spokane Falls Community College this Saturday, April 13.
Contact Tiara Pajimola at tpajimola16@my.whitworth.edu