Track & Field | 4/4/2026 8:36:00 PM

Wooster, Ohio – Facing a large field of competitors and blistering heat, the Oberlin College track & field team delivered a strong showing on the second day of the Wooster Invitational. The men's team placed seventh out of 14 teams with 33 points, while the women's team earned eighth out of 13, posting 37 points. 

After postponing the women's hammer due to the weather conditions, Alira Allen led the Crimson and Gold in her hammer debut with a mark of 34.86m. Quinn Hardy also impressed in the circle, launching to a debut throw of 33.36m. 

In the discus, Hardy followed with a personal best of 33.73m to earn a top-20 finish, placing 18th in the competitive field of 35. On the men's side, Abraham Cromartie V registered a personal best and conference-qualifying mark of 40.43m, placing 23rd in the field of 47. 

In the long jump, Dane Mentore leapt to a personal record of 6.36m to place seventh in the field of 26. 

Heating things up on the track, Liam Newman won the 3,000m steeplechase, crossing the line in 9:50.06, finishing over 40 seconds ahead of the runner-up. Newman's winning time also secures him a spot at the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships. 

"It was an absolute scorcher out there, and the team competed incredibly despite the heat and wind," Newman says on the day. "As for my race, I was thinking about a quote from Steve Prefontaine: 'Somebody may beat me, but they're going to have to bleed to do it.' The rest of the field was a little too scared to bleed." 

It was all Crimson and Gold in the women's steeplechase as Char Purcell won with a conference-qualifying time of 12:03.43. Lieke Everts (12:35.80) and Solana Pearl (13:09.48) both made their steeplechase debuts to place second and third and earn points for Oberlin.

"I was really happy to run with Solana and Leike in their debut steeplechase race," Purcell continues. "They both brought excitement to the event, and I'm really excited to see how their season progresses!"

In the 1,500m, Amber Borofsky placed 20th in the field of 52, securing a personal best of 5:04.59. Following on the men's side, Piers Shirk grabbed the bronze position in a field of 67 runners with a conference-qualifying time of 4:00.11. 

Ella Wozek led Oberlin in the 400m, crossing the line with a conference-qualifying time of 1:00.44 to produce a personal record. 

Despite the headwind, Yrva Desormeaux sprinted to a personal best of 13.20 in the 100m, finishing 12th overall. In the 800m, Cooper Tanski snagged second with a NCAC-qualifying personal best of 1:54.81. 

Running against a headwind in the 200m, Dylan Davis clocked in a personal best of 26.89 to place 15th in the field of 53. 

In the 5,000m, Grant Hirsch delivered a personal best of 16:14.93 to place ninth and earn a point for Oberlin. Wrapping up the day with the 4x400m relay, the quartet of Averi Williams, Molly Button, Samantha Soto, and Sofia Picucci placed third with a time of 4:26.76. In the men's 4x400m, the team of Kai Bell-Torres, Tanski, Greydan Villano, and Casey Smothers notched fourth overall with a time of 3:38.99. 

"What an exciting day of track and field! The hammer throwers gave us some great momentum going into the day, and the rest of the team really ran with it," Head Coach Ben Wach continues. "Today leaves me extremely excited for championship season to start."

The Crimson and Gold return to action on Friday, April 10, and Saturday, April 11, at the All-Ohio Championships hosted by Ohio Wesleyan. Friday events kick off at 6:30 p.m., with Saturday starting at 11 a.m. 

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