Trinity Pulls Away with 2015 SCAC Men's Track & Field Title

(All photos by Josh Moczygemba) 

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Trinity University posted 11 individual wins en route to the 2015 SCAC Men's Track & Field title Saturday afternoon on the campus of Trinity. Official Championships Website | Team Scores | Complete Results

The TU Tigers pilled up 269 points and earned a decisive 78 point victory over second-place Texas Lutheran University (191 points) to earn the program's third-consecutive title and 10th all-time.

Southwestern University was third with 68 points, Colorado College finished fourth with 60 points and the University of Dallas came in fifth with 24 points.

Marquis Brown of Texas Lutheran scored 29.5 points to earn SCAC Male Track Athlete of the Meet honors. The freshman posted first place finishes in both the 200 and 400 meter dash in addition to a fifth-place finish in the 100 meter dash. He was also on the Bulldogs' first-place 4x100 relay team and second-placce 4x400 relay team. (Interview)

The sun came out on Saturday, making for a beautifully warm morning and afternoon of competition after overcast conditions threatened most of Friday's schedule.

Texas Lutheran posted a 1-2 finish in the long jump to begin Saturday's final day of competition. Chantz Singletary finished first with a jump of 21 feet, 5 1/2 inches and Marquis Barrolle finished second with a jump of 21 feet, 4 1/4 inches. Louie Montoto of Trinity placed third with a leap of 20 feet, 7 1/4 inches.

Trinity's Miro Ronac Giannone won the javelin with a toss of 155 feet. Southwestern's Jeremy Snyder was second with a throw of 127 feet and Alexander Milbert of Trinity was third with a toss of 123 feet, 1 inch.

Matt Love gave Trinity its second field event win of the morning, taking first place in the discuss throw. The freshman tossed the apparatus 144 feet, 10 inches. TLU student-athletes finished second and third as Cody Thornburg and Grant Kuempel earned spots on the awards stand with tosses of 129 feet, 11 inches and 128 feet, 9 inches, respectively.

Louie Montoto of Trinity earned top honors in the high jump, clearing 6 foot, 6 3/4 inches. Teammate David Stroud placed second with a jump of 5 feet, 9 3/4 inches while TLU's Christopher Frank placed third with a jump of 5 feet, 7 3/4 inches.

The men's 4x100 relay was the morning's first running event and the team of Bryce Johnson, Marquis Brown, Zach Velasquez and Chantz Singletary earned top honors for Texas Lutheran with a run of 43.01. Southwestern placed second in a time of 46.44 and Colorado College was third in a time of 46.61.

Austin Brown of Trinity led the pack in the 1,500 meter run, crossing the line in the winning time of 4:04.98. Colorado College's Graham Frank was second in a time of 4:07.80 and the University of Dallas' Ryan McAnany was third in a time of 4:08.98.

Jonathan Hilman of Texas Lutheran earned top honors in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing in a time of 15.77. Darian Sommers of Trinity was second in a time of 16.09 and Christopher Frank of Texas Lutheran finished third with a time of 16.70.

TLU's Brown picked up the first of his two individual wins with a first-place finish in the 400 meter dash. The freshman hit the tape with a time of 49.09 to defeat Trinity's Mike McIntosh who came in second with a time of 50.15. Texas Lutheran's Zach Velasquez was third in a time of 50.97.

In a remarkable close finish, Trinity's Eric Booker laid claim to the unofficial "Fastest Man in the SCAC" designation with a time of 10.95 in the 100 meter dash. Booker just nipped Texas Lutheran's Bryce Johnson who was second in a time of 10.96. Trinity's Adam Saunders crossed the line in 10.97. It was the first time since 2002 and just the second time ever that the top three finishers had crossed the tape with a sub 11.00 time.

Ian Plantz of Trinity earned his third consecutive title in the 800 meters with a winning time of 1:56.78. With the victory, Plantz becomes just the second SCAC male to win the 800 in three consecutive championships (Zach Brush of Trinity won the event four straight years from 20008-2011). Colorado College's Ryan Bing placed second with a time of 1:57.40 and Donald Manuszewski of Texas Lutheran was third in a time of 1:57.52.

Darian Sommers of Trinity took first-place honors in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 58.02. TLU's Jonathan Hilman was second in a time of 58.67 and Paden Williams of Southwestern finished third with a time of 58.77.

TLU's Brown earned his second win of the day in the 200 meters with a finishing time of 22.00. Trinity's Cody Wolfe placed second for the second consecutive year, finishing this year in a time of 22.22. His teammate Adam Saunders was third in a time of 22.35.

Taylor Piske gave Trinity its 11th and final individual victory with his first-place performance in the 5,000 meters (15:42.98). It was Piske's second consecutive victory in the event. Colorado College's Graham Frank was second (15:47.87) and Frank's teammate, Sam English, placed third (16:07.88).

In the final event of the meet, Trinity put the icing on its championship performance with a victory in the 4x400 meter relay. The team of Ronac Giannone, McIntosh, Plantz and Eric Soo finished the event with a time of 3:22.10. Texas Lutheran finished second (3:24.71) and Colorado College finished third (3:32.30).