Track & Field | 2/1/2025 9:49:00 PM

Berea, Ohio – The Oberlin College track and field teams competed today at the Dr. Taraschke Team Challenge, hosted by Baldwin-Wallace University. While much of the sprints and jumps squad took the weekend off from competition, Oberlin's distance and mid-distance runners delivered strong races. The women's team achieved eleven personal bests, while the men's team notched nine. Both teams tallied five conference-qualifying marks, and the men's team landed four times on Oberlin's all-time top-10 list. 
 
In the men's 3,000m, sophomore Piers Shirk and seniors Walter Moak and Jonah Barber swept the race's top three places. Barber set the early pace, taking the trio through the mile in a metronomic 4:40. Moak took the lead from there, with Shirk tucked in behind him. On the final homestretch, Shirk slipped past Moak to win in 8:42.24, with Moak just back in 8:42.79. Barber finished in 8:50.36. All three Yeomen set personal bests, which rank them #5, #6, and #9 on Oberlin's all-time list. 
 
On the women's side, senior Caleigh Lyons nearly matched her personal best with an 11:16.49. Sophomore Zosia Mateja returned to the track with an 11:34.77.
 
In the mile, junior Liam Newman scorched another top-10 time. Off the gun, Newman filed in behind Baldwin Wallace sophomore Dillon Hach. Hach pulled away after 800m, but Newman rallied on the bell lap to take third in 4:23.27. The time improves Newman's personal best by one second, solidifies his place in the fast heat at the NCAC championships, and raises him to #6 on Oberlin's all-time list. 
 
In the preceding heat, freshman Grant Hirsch ran a 12-second personal best of 4:53.08, a solid performance as he adapts to indoor racing.
 
On the women's side, senior Sage Serraino (5:27.87) and sophomore Char Purcell (5:37.44) each notched slight personal bests. Serraino's time met the NCAC standard of 5:28.44.
 
Purcell returned in the 800m to run 2:35.01 in her debut at the distance, while first-year Solana Pearl followed with a personal best of 2:38.46. Junior Amber Borofsky contested her first indoor 800m in 2:42.08. 
 
On the men's side, Newman doubled back to cover four laps in 2:00.13. Newman's time was less than a second off of his personal best, an impressive feat in his second race of the day. 
 
First-year Yrva Desormeaux headlined Oberlin's sprints squad at the meet, clocking a personal best of 62.42 in the 400m. Desormeaux also delivered a strong run in the 55m, crossing the line in a personal best of 7.86. Junior Ryley Steggall ran the Yeowomen's best time in the 55m, clocking 7.64 to surpass the NCAC-qualifying mark of 7.69. 
 
Covering the same distance over hurdles, Anna Fritz clocked a season best of 9.11. 
 
Fritz and Steggall also competed in the long jump, leaping 4.82m and 4.62m, respectively. Senior Heather Benway won the event with her third-round jump of 5.04m, a season best and a second consecutive win in the event. Fritz and Benway again met the NCAC standard of 4.82m.
 
Oberlin's throwers hurled a number of personal bests from the ring. First-year Mary Howell and second-year Abraham Cromartie V threw personal bests in both indoor events. Howell threw the shot 8.39m and the weight 7.87m, while Cromartie launched them 12.76m and 10.42m. With their marks, both throwers continue their remarkable progression this season. In addition, junior Celia Vaughn shoved the shot 8.71m, a new personal best for the heptathlete.
 
Head Coach Ben Wach was excited by the results today and the progress the team has made at this point in the season.
 
"This meet definitely ushered in the part of the season we all wait for, where preparation and execution start to meet up, which means we start seeing more breakthrough performances! Piers and Yrva were extremely exciting on that front", Wach said. "It was also great to see Jonah translate his success on the grass to the indoor track. Heather and Abraham continued their string of strong performances, and Ryley stepped up in distance very capably to run an excellent 4x400m leg."
 
The Crimson and Gold return to competition at home next Friday, February 7, for the Dan Kinsey Invitational. Field events start at 5:00pm, with track events beginning at 7:00 p.m.
 
Fans can keep up with their favorite teams on Instagram, Facebook, X, or TikTok, and watch all the home matches live online. The Crimson and Gold's home broadcasts can be accessed on TV through the official Oberlin College Sports Network app on Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.