Waynesburg Athletics By Seth Evans
GRANVILLE, Ohio (Feb. 8) – Waynesburg University took its men’s and women’s indoor track & field teams to Denison University this past Saturday to compete at the Bob Shannon Invitational.
Waynesburg put on quite a showing as a teaser for what they can do with the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championship just around the corner. The Yellow Jackets had several athletes on the podium in their respective events and a few qualifying for the finals.
One of those athletes is junior Isaiah Mathews, who clocked in an impressive time of 7.25 seconds in the 60-meter dash. This not only sent him to the finals for the event and ended up taking seventh place, but also hit a new personal record in the finals, clocking in a time of 7.14 seconds.
“Isaiah has been impressive this indoor season,” head coach Chris Hardie said. “He has risen to the top of the PAC in the 60-meter and 200-meter and seems to be gearing up for a PAC title run. He knows he has a lot of work to do before conference and he is putting in some quality workout sessions day in and day out.
“I think Mathews developed a hunger to be the best during the offseason and I have noticed that he is more driven and focused this winter season,” Hardie stated.
The other noted performance of the day came from senior Katherine Henderson, who won the high jump. She did so in style, setting a program record with a mark of 1.60 meters.
Somehow, Henderson wasn’t done impressing, as she also qualified for the finals in the 60-meter hurdles and placed fifth in that event with a final time of 9.75 seconds, as well as taking 12th place in the shot put with a throw of 9.98 meters.
Having an athlete who is not only able to compete in three separate events, all completely different from one another and to place in all of them is beyond impressive, let alone to do it at the collegiate level. This did not escape the eye of Hardie, as he heaped just as much praise on Henderson.
“What Henderson is doing right now is unbelievable,” Hardie said. “Two things jump out to me when you think about her success the last few weeks in a myriad of events. And those two things are explosion and adaptability. She is a hard worker in the weight room and adds plyometrics into her weekly routine.”
Hardie continued, stating that Henderson, “makes adjustments better than any athlete I have coached.” Hardie also mentioned assistant coach Bill Lubich as a key facet in Henderson’s progress in the High Jump.
Waynesburg’s men’s and women’s indoor track is back at it Friday, Feb. 11 as they head to Ohio Wesleyan University for their final competition date before the conference championship.