KENOSHA, Wis. — The Carthage men's and women's track and field teams opened their indoor season today, with the men placing first and the women second while hosting Carroll and North Park on Saturday at the Tarble Athletic and Recreation Center.

On the track, the day began with the men's 400-meter which was won by Cody Canegan on a time of 51.48 seconds. Next for the men was the 55-meter hurdles, with Alassane Guisse taking first place on a time of 8.65, while Connor Bell placed second with a personal-best time of 8.86.

In the 55-meter dash, newcomer Kolby Pruitt placed second in the prelims before taking first in the finals on a time of 6.71 seconds, while Mason Tucker took fifth in the finals. Senior David Rogers won his heat and took first place overall in the 200-meter dash, crossing the finish line with 23.84 on the clock. In the 800-meter run, Jeremy Ermilio placed second on a time of 2:18.71 while Cameron Mills placed third at 2:24.21.

Running in his first race as a member of the track and field team, freshman Craig Hundley took first place in the mile with a time of 4:31.94, while Micah Anderson and Trevor Swanson placed third and fourth, respectively. The men's team finished their day on the track with a first-place finish in the 4,000-meter distance medley relay, with the team of Topher Davis, Josh Atlas, Michael Barber, and Cameron Fischer clocking an 11:03.76.

In the jumps, Bell cleared 1.80 meters in the high jump to take second place, with Mason DeLille placing third. In the long jump, Lucas Lieb lept 5.70 meters and took fourth, while freshman Aidan O'Neill won the pole vault after clearing the bar at 3.19 meters.

Over at the throwing circle, Joseph White placed third in the shot put on a toss of 14.11 meters, while Matthew Ausse placed second in the weight throw with a mark of 16.08 meters.

"I thought it was a very solid opener for the guys in all event areas," said men's head coach Josh Henry. "I have been impressed with how hard they have worked in the last year despite the uncertainty, so it feels great to compete again. We're definitely looking forward to the next meet and having the opportunity to compete and improve."

Beginning in the afternoon, the women's team began with the 800-meter run, where Gabrella-Marie Rinon placed fifth with a time of 2:41.68. In the mile, freshman Lily Majestic was first to cross the finish line at 5:55.20, with Amy Mayhill taking second, Laura Sanders third, and Malena Chiodi fourth.

Aubrey Broz finished in first place with a time of 12:05.46 in the 3,000-meter run, with the team of Mayhill, Jillian Schirmacher, Rinon, and Sanders taking first in the 4,000-meter distance medley relay with a time of 14:36.25.

In the women's 400, Grace Robinson took second with a time of 1:06.13 while Bella Serrano placed fourth. 

After qualifying for the finals in the 55-meter dash, Angelina Adamo and Alanna Chavez placed fifth and sixth, respectively, while Cailey Ciezadlo finished out the night on the track for Carthage in the 200, placing second with a time of 28.05 while freshman Sarah Kerfin took third at 28.95.

"We had a lot of solid efforts from the women's team tonight," said women's head coach Stephanie Domin. "After not competing for almost 11 months, we were unsure how the performances would be for the team, but we were pleasantly surprised."

In the field events, Alexis Mattox placed fifth in the shot put with a throw of 11.73 meters, before placing third in the weight throw with a mark of 14.60 meters. Kathryn Milschewski placed fourth in the weight throw with a toss of 14.44 meters, while Hannah Lizano took fifth at 14.17 meters.

Junior Julia Cozzi cleared 2.90 meters in the pole vault to take second place for Carthage, while Aubrey Tesch and Pearl Moss each jumped 1.50 meters in the high jump to tie for first place. In the long jump, Madie Haupert and Ashley Hannam took third and fourth place respectively.

"The team was excited to compete and it was nice to get the team unity back," said Domin. "We're off to a great start to the 2021 season. We have lots of work to do but we know where we are and have something to build on."

Both the men's and women's track and field teams will be back in action next weekend, when they host Elmhurst and North Park in the Tarble Athletic and Recreation Center on Saturday, February 6.

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