Grace Lancers Set Three More School Track Records
April 12, 2021 at 12:07 a.m.
Grace Lancers Set Three More School Track Records
By Josh Neuhart-
The Lancers were the runners-up for both the men’s and women’s standings, finishing behind only Trine.
Dimitri Margaritidis broke a 22-year-old record in the 5,000-meter race, placing third with a time of 15:03.02. He topped James Kennedy’s mark of 15:19.49 set in 1999.
Grace also set new records in both the men’s and women’s 4x100 relay. The men’s squad of Isaac Findley, John Green, Michael Williams and Braden Smith had a time of 42.14 seconds, beating the previous record by nearly one second.
The women’s foursome of Julia Malson, Nordia Campbell, Gracious O’Connor and Sarah O’Day eclipsed their previous record from a week ago, finishing in 48.22.
Grace impressed in the men’s 800, forming a red wall to grab the top six places in the race. Kyle Smith led the way, winning in 1:54.12 and was followed closely by his brother Luke Smith (1:54.68). Tanner Sallee (1:54.93), Maurice Macklin (1:56.18), Isaac Beatty (1:56.25) and Derek O'Connor (1:58.25) rounded out the top six.
“Our middle distance group is one of the best in the NAIA, and they certainly showed that today in the 800,” said Grace head coach Jeff Raymond.
Green won the 200 in 21.71 with Findley in second at 22.20.
The men’s 4x400 relay won the race in 3:23.66 when Sallee dove across the finish line to top Trine by one one-hundredth of a second.
Isaac Brown claimed the high jump title at 6-feet-6.75, and his brother Caleb Brown won the hammer at 151-3. Abbott Joy also won the javelin with a throw of 170-11.
On the women’s side, O’Connor (12.44) and Campbell (12.46) finished 1-2 in the 100 dash.
The 200 race saw Grace claim the top four finishers, including Ashley Stoltzfus (26.29), Malson (26.32), Zoe Huley (26.57) and O’Day (27.27).
Stoltzfus also won the 400 in 1:00.93 with teammate Tara Friesen second in 1:02.23.
The women’s 4x400 team of Campbell, Huley, Lyne Camara and Malson won the relay with a time of 4:02.13.
“Despite the rain that fell much of the day, our athletes stayed focused and put together some great performances,” Raymond continued. “There were numerous personal bests from a wide variety of athletes, which shows that we are continuing to improve.”
The Lancers will return to action next week for the Little State Championships at Indiana Wesleyan (Friday and Saturday).
Lancers run well at NAIA XC?Nationals
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Three members of Grace’s cross country team competed at the NAIA National Championships on Friday.
Bryan Hernandez-Rios, Heather Plastow and Mallory Hiatt all performed well in the national meet.
“This was a great day for our cross country programs. These three have led our teams all year, and it was fun to test ourselves against the best of the best on a muddy course in April,” said Grace head coach Jake Poyner. “It was a fantastic learning experience, and I’m extremely proud of these three and their spirits of gratitude and flexibility in the midst of a tumultuous year.”
Hernandez-Rios placed 45th in the nation out of 317 runners. He finished in a time of 25:36.92, a personal-best time for him.
In the women’s race, Plastow finished 58th out of 326 runners with a time of 18:48.99. Hiatt was 119th as a freshman, crossing the finish line in 19:21.40.
“Bryan ran a very smart race and had a huge personal best,” Poyner continued. “Heather also just barely missed her personal best, and Mallory and she learned some great lessons about what to do differently to get out faster in the future. It was a great day for all three Lancers.”
Both teams enjoyed tremendous success during the cross country season under Coach Poyner. The teams appeared together in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll for the first time ever.
Lancers lose two close ones to MVN
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio – Grace College’s baseball team lost two games to Mt. Vernon Nazarene to close out the four-game series on Saturday afternoon.
The Lancers lost 4-3 in the first game and dropped the series finale 3-2. Both games were tightly contested throughout with the clinching run coming in walkoff fashion in both games.
The Cougars struck first in game one taking a 1-0 lead after the opening frame.
Grace struggled on offense with just two baserunners through three innings before coming alive in the fourth.
The fourth inning started off with a bang for the Lancers. Alex Rich hit the first pitch of the inning over the left field fence, tying the game at one.
Austin Carr followed up Rich's effort with a double. Carr would eventually be driven in by Jeff Pawlik to give Grace a 2-1 lead.
Mt. Vernon responded with a pair of hits in its half of the inning to tie the game at two apiece just past the midway point.
The Lancers would threaten again in the sixth inning. Braden Compton and Patrick Danforth were on second and third with just one out, but the next two batters went down on strikes as the Cougars avoided surrendering a run.
In the bottom of the sixth, Mt. Vernon regained the lead at 3-2 with a two-out home run.
Grace would return the favor in the eight inning. After working ahead in the count, Danforth hit a ball over the fence and just beyond the glove of a leaping Cougar fielder to knot the game up at three.
The Lancers would get one on in the ninth, but their chance of taking the lead would end when the runner was thrown out trying to steal second.
Mt. Vernon loaded the bases with just one out in the ninth to set the table for the win. Lancers' pitcher Hunter Schumacher would get a swinging strikeout for the second out, but a hard-hit ground ball from the next batter gave the Cougars the walk off 4-3 win.
Jake Decker got the start for the Lancers and pitched eight innings. He allowed three runs on six hits while striking out three.
Carr and Danforth each had two hits. Rich, Danforth and Pawlik all drove in runs.
The second game had a familiar start with the Cougars once again jumping out to an early advantage. The Cougars scored two of their three baserunners in the first to grab the lead.
Grace got off to a slow offensive start before Chris Griffin got the Lancers on the board. Leading off the fourth inning, Griffin blasted a ball over the center field fence to draw the Lancers within one.
Later in the inning Carr would reach and eventually score off of a hit from Pawlik to tie the game at two.
The pitchers began to take over as the seven-inning affair reached its conclusion.
Mt. Vernon got a runner to third base in the sixth, but the Lancers held strong to force the Cougars to strand the go-ahead run.
In the seventh Pawlik led things off with a double. The Lancers used a bunt to advance him to third, but a strikeout followed by a flyout brought the Cougars back up to bat.
After working a walk to start the inning, the Cougars doubled in the winning run for the second walkoff of the day.
Pawlik had one RBI on two hits, and Griffin reached base twice and had the Lancers' lone home run in the game. RJ Synder and Danforth also had hits.
Kameron Koch pitched five solid innings. He allowed just two runs while striking out four. Bret Wilhelmi struck out one batter in relief.
The Lancers will return to action on Wednesday when they play Indiana Tech. Both games of the doubleheader will take place at Parkview Field (home of the Fort Wayne TinCaps) with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m.
The Lancers were the runners-up for both the men’s and women’s standings, finishing behind only Trine.
Dimitri Margaritidis broke a 22-year-old record in the 5,000-meter race, placing third with a time of 15:03.02. He topped James Kennedy’s mark of 15:19.49 set in 1999.
Grace also set new records in both the men’s and women’s 4x100 relay. The men’s squad of Isaac Findley, John Green, Michael Williams and Braden Smith had a time of 42.14 seconds, beating the previous record by nearly one second.
The women’s foursome of Julia Malson, Nordia Campbell, Gracious O’Connor and Sarah O’Day eclipsed their previous record from a week ago, finishing in 48.22.
Grace impressed in the men’s 800, forming a red wall to grab the top six places in the race. Kyle Smith led the way, winning in 1:54.12 and was followed closely by his brother Luke Smith (1:54.68). Tanner Sallee (1:54.93), Maurice Macklin (1:56.18), Isaac Beatty (1:56.25) and Derek O'Connor (1:58.25) rounded out the top six.
“Our middle distance group is one of the best in the NAIA, and they certainly showed that today in the 800,” said Grace head coach Jeff Raymond.
Green won the 200 in 21.71 with Findley in second at 22.20.
The men’s 4x400 relay won the race in 3:23.66 when Sallee dove across the finish line to top Trine by one one-hundredth of a second.
Isaac Brown claimed the high jump title at 6-feet-6.75, and his brother Caleb Brown won the hammer at 151-3. Abbott Joy also won the javelin with a throw of 170-11.
On the women’s side, O’Connor (12.44) and Campbell (12.46) finished 1-2 in the 100 dash.
The 200 race saw Grace claim the top four finishers, including Ashley Stoltzfus (26.29), Malson (26.32), Zoe Huley (26.57) and O’Day (27.27).
Stoltzfus also won the 400 in 1:00.93 with teammate Tara Friesen second in 1:02.23.
The women’s 4x400 team of Campbell, Huley, Lyne Camara and Malson won the relay with a time of 4:02.13.
“Despite the rain that fell much of the day, our athletes stayed focused and put together some great performances,” Raymond continued. “There were numerous personal bests from a wide variety of athletes, which shows that we are continuing to improve.”
The Lancers will return to action next week for the Little State Championships at Indiana Wesleyan (Friday and Saturday).
Lancers run well at NAIA XC?Nationals
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Three members of Grace’s cross country team competed at the NAIA National Championships on Friday.
Bryan Hernandez-Rios, Heather Plastow and Mallory Hiatt all performed well in the national meet.
“This was a great day for our cross country programs. These three have led our teams all year, and it was fun to test ourselves against the best of the best on a muddy course in April,” said Grace head coach Jake Poyner. “It was a fantastic learning experience, and I’m extremely proud of these three and their spirits of gratitude and flexibility in the midst of a tumultuous year.”
Hernandez-Rios placed 45th in the nation out of 317 runners. He finished in a time of 25:36.92, a personal-best time for him.
In the women’s race, Plastow finished 58th out of 326 runners with a time of 18:48.99. Hiatt was 119th as a freshman, crossing the finish line in 19:21.40.
“Bryan ran a very smart race and had a huge personal best,” Poyner continued. “Heather also just barely missed her personal best, and Mallory and she learned some great lessons about what to do differently to get out faster in the future. It was a great day for all three Lancers.”
Both teams enjoyed tremendous success during the cross country season under Coach Poyner. The teams appeared together in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll for the first time ever.
Lancers lose two close ones to MVN
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio – Grace College’s baseball team lost two games to Mt. Vernon Nazarene to close out the four-game series on Saturday afternoon.
The Lancers lost 4-3 in the first game and dropped the series finale 3-2. Both games were tightly contested throughout with the clinching run coming in walkoff fashion in both games.
The Cougars struck first in game one taking a 1-0 lead after the opening frame.
Grace struggled on offense with just two baserunners through three innings before coming alive in the fourth.
The fourth inning started off with a bang for the Lancers. Alex Rich hit the first pitch of the inning over the left field fence, tying the game at one.
Austin Carr followed up Rich's effort with a double. Carr would eventually be driven in by Jeff Pawlik to give Grace a 2-1 lead.
Mt. Vernon responded with a pair of hits in its half of the inning to tie the game at two apiece just past the midway point.
The Lancers would threaten again in the sixth inning. Braden Compton and Patrick Danforth were on second and third with just one out, but the next two batters went down on strikes as the Cougars avoided surrendering a run.
In the bottom of the sixth, Mt. Vernon regained the lead at 3-2 with a two-out home run.
Grace would return the favor in the eight inning. After working ahead in the count, Danforth hit a ball over the fence and just beyond the glove of a leaping Cougar fielder to knot the game up at three.
The Lancers would get one on in the ninth, but their chance of taking the lead would end when the runner was thrown out trying to steal second.
Mt. Vernon loaded the bases with just one out in the ninth to set the table for the win. Lancers' pitcher Hunter Schumacher would get a swinging strikeout for the second out, but a hard-hit ground ball from the next batter gave the Cougars the walk off 4-3 win.
Jake Decker got the start for the Lancers and pitched eight innings. He allowed three runs on six hits while striking out three.
Carr and Danforth each had two hits. Rich, Danforth and Pawlik all drove in runs.
The second game had a familiar start with the Cougars once again jumping out to an early advantage. The Cougars scored two of their three baserunners in the first to grab the lead.
Grace got off to a slow offensive start before Chris Griffin got the Lancers on the board. Leading off the fourth inning, Griffin blasted a ball over the center field fence to draw the Lancers within one.
Later in the inning Carr would reach and eventually score off of a hit from Pawlik to tie the game at two.
The pitchers began to take over as the seven-inning affair reached its conclusion.
Mt. Vernon got a runner to third base in the sixth, but the Lancers held strong to force the Cougars to strand the go-ahead run.
In the seventh Pawlik led things off with a double. The Lancers used a bunt to advance him to third, but a strikeout followed by a flyout brought the Cougars back up to bat.
After working a walk to start the inning, the Cougars doubled in the winning run for the second walkoff of the day.
Pawlik had one RBI on two hits, and Griffin reached base twice and had the Lancers' lone home run in the game. RJ Synder and Danforth also had hits.
Kameron Koch pitched five solid innings. He allowed just two runs while striking out four. Bret Wilhelmi struck out one batter in relief.
The Lancers will return to action on Wednesday when they play Indiana Tech. Both games of the doubleheader will take place at Parkview Field (home of the Fort Wayne TinCaps) with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m.
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