Bearcats Finish Third at RSC Championship

The Brescia men's track & field team competed at the River States Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship on April 22nd-23rd, placing 3rd out of 11.

"I'm proud of the way our men competed. We had several All-Conference performances and a few athletes who won events as well. We were hoping to place higher, but third is still the highest we have placed as a team in school history. We are getting better every year and I believe we are close to reaching our ultimate goal," said Head Coach Luke Stoffel.

The RSC Championship was a two day meet, with prelims of sprint events and some of the field and distance events taking place on day one.

DAY ONE:

Landon Holt (SR/Dawson Springs, KY), Ethan Carpenter (SO/Rogers, AR), Joseph Tapia (SO/Owensboro, KY), and Joseph Craig (SO/Benton, IL) kicked off the day for the Bearcats in long jump, with Holt qualifying for finals and placing third overall. Holt's performance earned him All-Conference honors.

At the same time as long jump, Joseph Craig, Andrew Parker (JR/Louisville, KY), and Mason Aschenbrenner (JR/Ottumwa, IA) all qualified for finals in javelin. Craig placed fifth with a best throw of 35.90m, Parker placed eighth at 34.60m, and Aschenbrenner placed ninth at 34.40m.

Events on the track started with the 4x800m relay. The Brescia relay team of Christian Leach (FR/Monroe, OH), Benjamin Brown (SO/Memphis, MI), Tyler Walz (SO/Hawesville, KY), and Keitel McCoy (FR/Douglasville, GA) placed seventh with a time of 8:55.

Mason Aschenbrenner and Landon Holt both qualified for finals in the 110m hurdles prelims, placing first and second in the prelims.

The next group of field events started at 3:00 p.m. with pole vault and hammer throw. Ethan Pierce (FR/Leitchfield, KY) won pole vault with a height of 3.36m, picking up the Bearcats' first conference champion of the meet. Landon Holt finished second in pole vault, earning himself All-Conference honors again.

Andrew Parker qualified for finals in hammer throw, placing fourth overall.

In the 400m dash, Joseph Craig, James Wood (FR/Sacramento, KY), and Joseph Tapia placed 17th, 19th, and 20th, respectively.

The Bearcats qualified three athletes for finals in the 100m dash prelims, with Landon Holt, Denilson Whitmore (JR/Murfreesboro, TN), and Colby Aschenbrenner (FR/Ottumwa, IA) all making it to finals.

Wes Wheatley (SO/Hawesville, KY) set a new school record in the 5,000m racewalk, placing fifth overall with a time of 37:30.62. Wheatley was the first athlete in school history to compete in this event.

In the Bearcats' final event of the day, Landon Holt, Denilson Whitmore, and Mason Aschenbrenner all qualified for the 200m finals.

DAY TWO:

Day two started with Andrew Parker qualifying for finals in shot out, placing ninth.

Events on the track started with Benjamin Brown, Charlie McCallister, and Wes Wheatley competing in the 3,000m steeplechase. Brown placed sixth in the event. All three athletes ran a new PR in the event, with Brown and McCallister both running 30+ second PR's.

Next, the 4x100m relay team of Denilson Whitmore, Colby Aschenbrenner, Mason Aschenbrenner, and Landon Holt earned the Bearcats' second RSC Champion performance of the meet, winning with a time of 43.52 seconds.

In the 1500m run, Christian Leach, Jeremy White-Zavala, and Caleb Sandefur ran 4:21.65, 4:42.92, and 4:46.90, respectively. All three athletes ran a new PR in the event.

In the 110m hurdle final, Mason Aschenbrenner picked up his first individual championship performance of the meet, running 15.36 seconds. Landon Holt also competed in the 110m hurdles, placing fourth.

In the second section of field events, Ethan Carpenter placed tenth in triple jump with a best jump of 11.43m.

Landon Holt picked up another All-Conference honor in the 100m dash, placing third. Denilson Whitmore and Colby Aschenbrenner also competed in the 100m dash finals, placing fourth and seventh.

Jeremy White-Zavala, Keitel McCoy, Caleb Sandefur, and Charlie McCallister all competed in heat one of the 800m run, placing second, third, fourth, and sixth in the heat.

In the 400m hurdles, Landon Holt won the event in 54.93 seconds, narrowly missing the NAIA Nationals qualifying standard of 54.65 seconds. Mason Aschenbrenner also competed in the event, placing second with a time of 56.18 seconds. Both athletes finished All-Conference in the event.

In the 200m dash, Denilson Whitmore, Mason Aschenbrenner, and Landon Holt placed second, sixth, and seventh, respectively. Whitmore earned an All-Conference honor with a time of 22.72 seconds.

In the 5,000m run, Christian Leach, James Barrow, and Draven Stewart placed 13th, 22nd, and 23rd, respectively. Stewart ran a new PR in the event, shaving about 20 seconds from his previous best.

In the final event of the meet, the Brescia 4x400m relay team of Denilson Whitmore, Benjamin Brown, Mason Aschenbrenner, and Landon Holt placed fourth with a time of 3:33.43.