Mount Olive, NC. - After the throwers got things started on day one of the Mount Olive Trojan Relays, the rest of the team joined them for day two of action on Saturday. It was a heavy field day for the Cardinals, with only one track athlete competing, but that track athlete made a statement leading the Cardinals. Distance runner Gabby Baiano picked up two top 20 finishes in her two events as the Cardinals rounded out their weekend trip to North Carolina.
Baiano's best event would come in the 1500 Meter Run, where she picked up one of two top five five finishes on the day for the team. She would finish fifth in the field, running a time of 5:23.58, finishing as the top runner out of the Mountain East Conference (MEC) competition at the event and third among NCAA DII competition. It was the first of two PR's on the day for the junior, besting her old PR by .08 seconds. Her second PR would come in her second run of the day as she took on the Women's 800-Meter run. She would earn her second PR, and second top 20 finish of the day, running a time of 2:40.52 to finish 12th in the field. It was her first time taking on the 800-Meter dash in outdoor season, bringing a strong end to her day on the track.
The final four events of the day would come in the field events, with Keala McCurry leading the way in the Pole Vault. She would take first overall as the only competitor in the field as she worked on her technique. She would reach a height of 3.10 meters and got the field events started off strong. The throwers would take the reigns the rest of the way, with Amber Yoho and Mariah Pelkey competing between the Shot Put, Discus, and Javelin. Yoho would be the only one to compete in two events, taking her shot at both the Shot Put and Discus with her best showing coming in the shot put. She would finish 17th with a distance of 9.25 meters, setting a new PR in the event. Her final event would be the discus, where she finished 18th with a distance of 28.62 Meters. Mariah Pelkey would round out the day in the Javelin, finishing 4th overall with a distance of 28.94 meters.
For the men, the lone competitor would be Drew Pierce, who competed in two separate sprinting events on the day, setting two PR's on the day. Up first was the 100-Meter Dash, where Pierce took 41st overall with a time of 12.31 seconds, as he debuted in the event. His second run would come in the 200-Meter Dash, where he set his second PR of the day, running a time of 24.83. It was enough to finish 36th overall and break his old PR by a time of .16 seconds.
The Wheeling University Outdoor Track & Field team returns to action on Friday, April 18th, when they compete at the Otterbein Twilight Invitational.
