BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – The Olivet Nazarene men's track and field hosted the 2021 ONU Holiday Invite within the confines of the Perry Recreation Center last Saturday, Dec. 4. The team took 12 top-three positions in the event competing against one Division II, three Division III, and four NAIA programs.  

Head-lining for the men on the track was Max Grant, Erik Richter, and the 4x400-meter relay team that was comprised of George Hannah, Connor Haab, Ben Tavares, and Alex Powell. Grant won the 400-meter run with a time of 51.43. Richter took first place in the 800-meter run posting a time of 1:58.79. The ONU 4x400-meter team raced to a first-place finish crossing the line at 3:35.15.

Other great track performances included a third-place finish by Ben Tavares in the 400-meter race. He registered a time of 52.50. Ranulfo Bernadit in the 60-meter and Ethan Piacenti in the 200-meters both garnered fourth-place finishes in their respective events. Bernadit recorded a time of 52.50 while Piacenti finished at 23.42.

In the field events, Austin Kasap swept both shot put and weight throw competitions. He finished first place in the shot put with a distance of 14.58 meters and then won the weight throw registering a distance of 15.63 meters. Noah Sears claimed the other first-place finish in the field events by clearing 4.65 meters in the pole vault.

In addition, Francisco Benavides and Ian Hallom tied each other for second in the high jump. Both matched each other by clearing 2.82 meters. Brody Vollrath finished third in the shot put with a distance of 13.09 meters. ONU swept the top three positions in the weight throw with Kasap finishing first, Daniel DeRasmus second (13.20 meters), and Vollrath third (12.97 meters).

MEET VITALS

Event: ONU Holliday Invite 2021

Location: Bourbonnais, Ill. | Perry Recreation Center

--ONU—

Contact: Patrick Kaindl, Sports Information GA, pkaindl@olivet.edu