Last weekend, the men’s indoor track & field team placed fifth out of 10 teams with 61 points at the Kenyon College Classic in Ohio. The meet was the final tune-up before the Yellow Jackets head to the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championships today.

Head coach Michelle Cross was satisfied with the results and believed that less competition led to a better test for the Jackets.

“It was a little bit smaller of a meet, and because of that, we had more people have the opportunity to place,” said Cross. “It was a lot of fun to see people on a smaller competitive field competing and placing.”

Several upperclassmen led the Yellow Jackets in their respective events. In the 500-meter dash, senior Matt Shinkle recorded a 1:11, earning himself a fifth-place finish.

Senior Mark Minjock finished fourth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.23 seconds, a new season best for the Peters Township native.

In the pole vault, senior Mitch Kendra finished in first place after clearing 4.40 meters.

“[Kendra] seems to have the most attention to detail out of all the athletes I coach,” said Cross.  “It shows up in little things, he is protective and particular of the pole vaults. He has always demanded a lot from himself and has been very supportive and helpful of others as well.”

He also finished in 13th place in the 4×400 with junior Tyler Sisler, sophomore Michael Trax and freshman James LaFollete.

The Yellow Jackets also had three men finish in the top ten in the shot put, two of which are juniors. Sophomore Ryan VanTine and juniors Blake Feldner and Drew Schwab placed third, fifth and seventh, respectively. VanTine’s top throw measured 13.46 meters, Feldner’s measured 12.89 and Schwab’s measured 12.04 meters.

Some young talent on the track also shined for the Yellow Jackets, as freshman Nate Jecelin placed fourth in the mile, with a 4:33, and fellow freshman Mac Colomb posted a 16:30, in the 5000-meter run, earning a third-place finish.

Cross said the meet went well overall.

“This was probably the perfect meet to come to [leading up to PAC’s],” said Cross. “It was a long meet and it was far away. [But] to come in against a little bit of a smaller field with about the same number of people that we will be competing against at PAC’s is always a fun confidence booster.”

With the regular season in the rearview mirror, the team planned to make final preparations this week with PAC’s starting today.

“We have been pressing really hard up to this point, so this week will be a [little] lighter,” said Cross. “We can’t be too light because we still have improvement and stuff to do for outdoor.  We will have a couple meetings and talk about our goals and things we want to do for the championship. For the most part, it will be a tune-up and a lot of making sure they are mentally ready more than anything else.”

The Yellow Jackets are in Youngstown, Ohio, today for the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championships. The team will then have three weeks off before the outdoor season begins on March 17 in New Concord, Ohio.