Sophomore Matt Molinaro leads the Men's Track & Field team at the Keeler Invitational

By Ashley Birchmeier

NAPERVILLE — The Ohio Northern men's track and field team sent select members to compete at the Keeler Invitational Thursday and Friday hosted by North Central College.

Sophomore Matt Molinaro led the Polar Bears as he finished first in the 800-meter run in 1:48.99, breaking his previous personal record of 1:50.20, ranking him second in the nation.

In the hammer throw, junior Lucas Shumate garnered a second place finish with a pitch of 178 feet 6 inches. He is currently ranked eighth in the nation with a distance of 187 feet 2 inches.

The 4x100-meter relay of senior Christian Rupe, sophomore Denorris Turner, sophomore Conner Karg, and senior Jojuan Fisher claimed a third place finish in 42.21.

In the 100-meter dash, Rupe finished fifth in 10.90, while sophomore Brandon Emert finished fifth with a season best time of 54.79.

Karg also claimed a ninth place finish in the 400-meter dash in 49.54.

Shumate finished ninth in the discus throw with a pitch of 143 feet 3 inches.

Junior Cully Gordon finished ninth in the 10,000-meter run in 32:36.98, while junior Eric Collins finished 12th in 33:23.77.

Senior Brandon Ike finished ninth in the pole vault with a height of 14 feet 11.5 inches.

In the 5,000-meter run, junior Aaren Hemmelgarn finished 12th with a season best time of 14:58.27, while freshman Ian McVey finished 15th with a season best time of 15:00.33 and senior Eric Wymer claimed 20th in 15:12.89.

Sophomore Samuel Boyd finished 18th in the 3,000-steeplechase with a personal best time of 9:27.37.

Wymer also claimed a 46th place finish in the 800-meter run with a season best time of 1:58.97.

The Polar Bears return to action Thursday as they compete at the Ohio Wesleyan Meet hosted in Delaware, Ohio.