On the eve of Easter Sunday, Waynesburg University sent a small group of their athletes from both the men’s and women’s track & field teams to West Liberty University for the Tim Weaver Invitational. Despite taking a group that wasn’t even in the double digits, Waynesburg was still able to bring back seven top six placements among five of the athletes, one of whom placed in multiple events.

     Jacob Harker was said athlete, notching fifth place finishes in the discus and shotput with throws of 37.71 and 13.21 meters respectively.

     Ty Williams was also an athlete to take advantage of the meet, with him not only taking 11^thplace in the 100 m dash with a time of 11.54, but also set a season best for himself in the 110 m hurdles, running 15.93 seconds, and qualifying for the finals. Williams would ultimately place fifth in the event with a time of 16.20 seconds.

     “He is running very well right now and seems to be heading towards a really good peak. I attribute this to his work ethic and his passion for the event.” Head Coach Chris Hardie said when speaking on Williams improvement in the event.

     Similar to how it has gone already this season, women’s javelin took up two of the other placements on Saturday, as usual placer Megan Barry took sixth with a throw of 32.73 meters. To add to that, freshman Natalie Double makes her first placement of the outdoor season with a throw of 35.15 and taking fifth place for the meet. When it comes to what has brought her such improvement, similar to Peyton Kuhns sentiment, she attributes much of it to Barry.

     “Megan has been an amazing supporter, jav mom, and friend during my first collegiate track and field season.” Double said, noting how her transition from high school to college has been much smoother with her guidance, “She has been there for me as a supportive teammate and was a huge help during preseason as I was going from what I was used to in high school to now. She has been a great role model and causes me to strive toward specific goals.”

     Hardie emphasized his continued optimism and confidence in this event, and how a lot of this comes from the chemistry the women share during practice throughout the week.

     “Going into the season, I could see that women’s javelin was going to be one of our marquee events.  The girls have really been working well together and offer critique to each other between throws and practice drills,” Hardie said, emphasizing how well they are progressing.

     The event also saw Jesse Cook take a team high third place, with this coming after notching a time of 12:34.30 in the 3,000 meter run.

     The men’s and women’s team will be back on the road on Saturday, April 6, when they head up north to Slippery Rock University for the Dave Labor Invitational.