GREENCASTLE — Another school record by distance running sensation Brayden Curnutt highlighted a full weekend of Wabash track and field competition. The senior traveled to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for the Midwest Elite Invitational and broke his own school record in the 5,000-meter run, finishing 10th in a field of the nation’s best distance runners. His time of 14:20.99 currently ranks him 18th in Division III. The rest of the team competed at the DePauw University Invitational on Saturday in Greencastle, Indiana, posting multiple top-five finishes and six total victories. The Little Giants won the meet, accumulating 143 points, with DePauw finishing in second place (138 points) and Rose-Hulman securing third (57 points).
Wabash achieved a 1-2-3 sweep in the 800-meter run, with senior Will Neubauer leading the way with a season’s best 1:53.86 for the win. Junior Haiden Diemer-McKinney also ran a season’s best of 1:54.49 for a second-place finish. Sophomore David Adesanya rounded out the top three, crossing the line in 1:55.78. Neubauer and Diemer-McKinney sit at 15th and 25th in the nation for the event.
Sly Williams was one of four athletes to finish in the top five for the long jump. The junior’s leap of 6.71 meters (22 feet, 0.25 inches) was enough to lock up the win. Senior Wyatt Dorsey earned a second-place finish with a jump of 6.23 meters (20 feet, 5.25 inches). Jake Oostman and Mike Holsclaw secured fourth and fifth place with season-best marks of 6.16 meters (20 feet, 2.50 inches) and 6.08 meters (19 feet, 11.50 inches), respectively. Williams also won the triple jump with a mark of 13.39 meters (43 feet, 11.25 inches).
Quinn Sholar claimed a victory and season’s best in the shot put with a launch of 15.87 meters (52 feet, 0.75 inches). The junior also tossed 17.80 meters (58 feet, 4.75 inches) in the weight throw for a personal record and second-place finish. Junior Evan Furuness also posted a personal best in the event, launching the weight 15.22 meters (49 feet, 11.25 inches).
Hugh Ford and Nate Joven completed a 1-2 sweep in the pole vault with new personal bests each. The freshman topped out at 4.25 meters (13 feet, 11.25 inches), while the junior matched the height of 4.25 meters for second place.
The quartet of Owen Smith, David Adesanya, Haiden Diemer-McKinney, and Will Neubauer took the gold in the 4x400-meter relay, attaining a season-best effort of 3:27.09.
Oostman also picked up a second-finish place in the high jump, clearing 1.83 meters (6 feet).
Senior Jacob Sitzman turned in a season’s best time of 15:37.28 in the 5,000-meter run, arriving at a fourth-place finish.
Sophomore Angel Perez set another personal record in the mile run, breaking the tape in 4:28.04 to finish in fourth place.
Sophomore Owen Smith continued the streak of personal bests with one of his own, picking up a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter dash, completing the quarter-mile distance in 52.74.
Wabash returns to the track next Saturday to compete at the Indiana State University Open.
