Vets Lead the Way for Men's Track & Field, Highlighted by a New School Record from Phillip

1/24/2021 6:13:00 PM | By: Garrett Siegel, Staff Writer

WESTERVILLE, Ohio -- Last year, Alex Phillip did not win a race, with his best being one third place finish. Today, he became a John Carroll school record holder.

Very quietly, Alex Phillip won the 5K and broke the school record with a time of 14:33.65, second in the nation. His efforts defined a dynamic start to 2021 for John Carroll University Men's Track and Field, with a first place finish over Otterbein, Wilmington, Ohio Northern, and Capital.

Meanwhile, senior Deven Ward did just as well as expected, snagging two wins in both the 60 and 200m dashes. Freshman James Kartsonas also contributed in the 60m dash with a 4th place finish in his first collegiate meet. Kartsonas also came in second in the long jump, the only male jumper for John Carroll today.

The other two school record holders had high quality days as well. Garrett Clark won the 400m, which was filled with JCU athletes on the podium. Mick Doyle, Bobby Foggle, Mark Zahren, and Cam Klauke all finished top five in that order. Ian Pierson came in second in the 1000m run today, but with the limited schools at each meet, and considering the strong second half he had last season, it is hard to imagine he won't get a victory soon.

Upperclassmen Jamie Dailey, Sam Coe, Pat White, Jared Arnold, Jake Darby, Ryan Kiley, and Connor McIntyre all had a top eight finish today. They are definitely going to continue to be counted on as the season progresses to score for the Blue Streaks in the middle and long distance events.

Possibly an unnoticed victory today could be Zach Gerber. Gerber had battled some injuries for two years, but came out today and won the hurdles with a time of 8.81 seconds, with a strong sixth in the 200m as well.

Also, freshman Caleb Correia showed a strong performance with a victory in the 800m run this afternoon, and was one of the legs of the 4x400m relay that came in first to end the meet as well. A small-school athlete in high school, Correia will be counted on in that event for JCU to push the pace and score almost every week.

John Carroll will travel to Ohio Northern in just six days for a meet on Saturday, January 30. Follow along at jcusports.com and @jcusports on Twitter.

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