Narbuvoll Hits National Mark in SPIRE Visit

With the indoor track and field season in full swing, the Edinboro University Fighting Scots made the trip to the SPIRE Institute this past weekend with hopes of keeping an already successful season rolling along.

A staple in the Edinboro indoor track schedule, SPIRE, located in Geneva, Ohio, had the honor of season, or even career opener for many Fighting Scots.

On the women’s side, former General McLane athlete Molly Regan was a highlight, becoming the Edinboro University record holder for the pole vault. She would place sixth overall and came up only 24 centimeters short from the provisional qualifying standard for nationals.

Praising her work ethic and resiliency to come back from an injury so quickly, head coach Anne Carlson said, “She came back like she didn’t even miss a step.”

Ida Narbuvoll would hit that NCAA qualifying mark, though, placing fifth in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 10:00.40. This would head a continued success in the distance races, as the women found themselves at the top for both the mile and 3,000. Rebekkah Bond finished in 5:11.19, good enough for 10th place in the mile. Placing four in the top 13 of the 3,000, Narbuvoll led the way, followed by Emma Sullivan in seventh, Anna Hösl in 10th and Kasey Jones in 13th.

For the 60 meter hurdles, Hilari Norris pushed herself into the final heat and finished in fifth place with a time of 9.30 seconds. Also notching fifth place finishes, Abby Lang in the 800 meter dash and Abigail Peters in the 600 meter dash, both freshman.

In the field events, Gabby Schultz competed in the shot put and weight throw, grabbing a fifth place in the shot and 11th in the weight throw to continue her season. After breaking two school records at the Al Hall Freedom Games, Schultz hasn’t shown signs of letting up.

For the men, they took the track for the first time this season. Corey Wefing finished in sixth place in the mile, with a time of 4:20.36, while freshman Brady Deaner had a strong showing, crossing seven seconds later at 4:27.66. Veteran Logan Kempney finished in a time of 4:34.92 and placed 31st overall.

Also placing in the top ten for the men was sophomore Joel Lohr in the 600 meter dash, crossing the line in ninth place with a time of 1:27.53.

It was a busy day for McDowell alumni Anthony Nelson, taking part in the 60 meter dash, 200 meter dash, 4x400 meter relay and the long jump. He placed 13th in the 200 and 44th in the 60.

Lastly, in the men’s 3,000 meter run, there was a great freshman performance by Steven Scheetz, leading the pack with a time of 9:10.47 in the absence of some of his older teammates. Jonathan Gusew, unable to compete due to a nagging hip injury, loved the grittiness he saw in his younger teammates, even if he knows they’ll continue to improve.

“It’s all part of the process, some of us come from small schools, it takes time to learn how to race in crowds” he said.

Fifth year senior Dominic Patrick had a strong performance to start the season, as well, coming in at 9:16.09 and in 29th place. Placing 33rd was Matt Fuller and Daniel Nowak placed 42nd.

Mike Lantinen is a Contributing Writer for The Spectator.

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