Men's Track & Field Enjoys Outstanding Opening Day of OAC Outdoor Championships

5/4/2023 10:47:00 PM | By: Joe Ginley '16, SID

JCU’s 4x800 Relay broke a school record and beat out the hosts.

ALLIANCE, Ohio – The opening day of the 2023 Ohio Athletic Conference Championships provided a bit of everything for John Carroll Men's Track & Field.

A school record, victories, All-OAC honors, close finishes, and success in every aspect.

After Day 1, the Blue Streaks stand in second place with 54 points, trailing only Mount Union's 75 points.

Victories on the distance side provided the centerpieces of a strong day for the Blue Streaks.

For starters, Ethan Domitrovich captured first in the 3000m Steeplechase. The star from McDonald, Ohio easily took the crown in the event, winning with a time of 9:06.84. His mark topped the field by a full five seconds. Adam Shah carded fourth, clocking in at 9:22.89. Jacob Gerhardt won his heat with a time of 9:50.96, but finished just outside of scoring range.

Alex Phillip didn't break his own records today in the 10000m, but he didn't need to. The St. Vincent-St. Mary grad bided his time before making his trademark kick to gallop past the field. The senior raced to first with a time of 30:39.29. His mark finished a full 20 seconds before the next challenger. Dominic Delmoro also raced well, scoring four points with a fifth-place time of 31:35.26.

The 4x800 provided an absolutely thrilling result that was undoubtedly the highlight of the day.

While Otterbein took the lead early, the event proved to be a 2-horse race between John Carroll and Mount Union. And after a fast sprint down the stretch, Max Grillo edged out Mount Union's anchor, and the Blue Streaks won the day. JCU's relay team of Michael Hvizdos, Mike Shipman, Caleb Correia, and Grillo shattered the school record by clocking in at 7:38.48. The quartet just barely beat Mount Union by .05 seconds.

Additionally, JCU's 4x800 time now ranks third in NCAA Division III, so that likely isn't the final race for the John Carroll quartet.

Jimmy Kartsonas took the podium in the long jump. The Pittsburgher achieved a hop of 6.93m for second place and an All-OAC finish, all while notching a personal record. Corey Minton also scored, notching a length of 6.62m for eighth.

Tyler Gast tallied a couple points in the javelin throw in his outdoor debut. The junior recorded a mark of 45.90m for seventh and a season best. Zach Szafarski also put points on the board in the discus, achieving a toss of 42.99m for fifth.

Apologies go out to George Sample, as his longstanding OAC meet record in the 400m took a tumble today. Both JCU's Garrett Clark (47.55) and Ohio Northern's Jordan Dean (47.24) surpassed Sample's record of 47.57, which had stood since 2001. Sample, of course, is a member of the John Carroll Athletic Hall of Fame. Joining Clark in the Friday finals will be two of his teammates and fellow stars, Basheer Alramahi (48.41) and Tyler Gast (48.79) who finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Mick Doyle showed up bigtime in the 400m hurdles, winning the prelims. The Chicago St. Rita alum tallied a time of 54.32 to punch his automatic qualifier to the finals while nabbing a personal record. Victor Ononogbo will also race tomorrow after recording a time of 56.26 for sixth overall while hitting a PR.

Kartsonas missed a PR by the smallest of margins in the 100m. The junior clocked in at 10.89 in the prelims while finishing second in his heat, just .01 from a PR. Either way, he'll get to try again at it on Friday.

Garrett Clark was his usual self in the 200m, winning his heat for his AQ to the finals. His time of 21.84 was the third fastest overall. Alramahi and Cam Klauke barely missed qualifying for finals.

Day 2 of the OAC Championships start on Friday with the field events at 11 am.

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