Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer
Nemecek Breaks Shot Put Record As Track & Field Opens The 2024-25 Indoor Season With A Bang At SVSU Holiday Open
Posted: Dec 06, 2024

Nemecek Breaks Shot Put Record As Track & Field Opens The 2024-25 Indoor Season With A Bang At SVSU Holiday Open

Results

OVERVIEW - HOLIDAY OPEN

LOCATION: Saginaw Valley St. – University Center, Mich.

RECAP: Northwood men's and women's track & field opened the 2024-25 indoor season at the Holiday Open hosted by Saginaw Valley St. on Friday (December 6).

INSIDE THE MEET

FOR THE MEN

  • 2024 Indoor All-American Will Nemecek was back in action for the Timberwolves for the shot put. Nemecek took home the crown with a 17.98m PR on his final throw of the competition. His mark cleared the NCAA provisional mark as well as every mark Northwood University has in its program history. He now holds the program record at 17.98m for the indoor shot put, previously held by Zechariah Stickler at 17.74m in 2021.
  • Juniors Blake Vier and Matheu Morrison returned to the track for their specialty, the hurdles. During prelims, both qualified for the finals, with Vier taking the top spot with a 7.99 finish during his heat. Morrison was third during prelims with an 8.06 race. Both marks were NCAA provisional marks to start the season. Vier then took second (8.11), while Morrison placed third (8.15) during the finals.
  • Logan Roka won the 800m competition with a personal record (PR) of 1:55.19. Roka finished first among the 44 competitors in the heats.
  • Luke Eros had a strong start to his sophomore campaign, setting a new PR in the weight throw with an NCAA provisional mark of 19.64m. Eros is just the fifth athlete to break the 19m barrier and could become just the fourth athlete to break the 20m later this season. His mark puts him fourth all-time in Northwood history.
  • Preston Earl took home first in the 3000m race. Earl finished at 8:47.38, with Lucas Oberle just behind, taking second at 8:58.88, and Nolan Nixon rounding out the Timberwolves in the top five, finishing in 9:05.68.
  • Freshman Diogo Vaz (fifth – 6.96) led all Timberwolves, running a sub-seven-second race in the 60m dash to open the season. Northwood had 11 athletes compete in prelims. Arthur Powell IV and Carson Daniel each finished at the 7.01 mark during their respective heats, taking 11th.  Vier took 13th with his 7.02 finish during his prelim. Both marks are new PRs for Powell IV and Vier.
  • Vaz (ninth – 22.36) and Powell IV (22.40) also finished top 10 after the 200m heats. Powell IV set his second PR of the meet.

FOR THE WOMEN

  • Kelsey Hansen set her new PR in the shot put at 13.76m. The sophomore sits third in NU history as she placed second in the competition to start the year. Hansen later made it two podium finishes, taking third in weight throw with a 15.86m toss.
  • Ariel Warner (third – 5:23.31), Landry Koski (fourth – 5:23.67), and Sarah Zehr (fifth – 5:27.46) went three, four, and five during the mile heats. Koski's mark was a PR for the junior newcomer.
  • In the 800m, Northwood's lone competitor, Kaylee Locke, took home a podium finish with a 2:22.74 mark, taking third.
  • Gabby Jones finished in the top 10 during the 400m competition. She finished eighth in 1:02.18 to start her junior year, just a second off her current PR.
  • Newcomer Breanna Hyde moved into the Northwood records books, taking tenth in the long jump with a 4.99m leap. Her mark is now ninth all-time in Northwood history.
  • Keiyera Johnson ran just .05 off her PR during the 60m hurdle prelims. She placed 12th overall with a 9.50 finish in her heat.
  • Northwood's 'A' group took eighth on the 4x400m relay. The team was made up of Jones, Warner, Johnson, and Locke and finished in 4:14.48.
  • Riley Hacker (12th – 11:29.71) and Kaylee Aultman (15th – 11:32.74) were Northwood's top finishers in the 3000m. Aultman's mark was a new PR for the sophomore.
  • Freshman Abby Hasenfratz placed 11th in the weight throw. With her first collegiate toss, she hit 14.10m, which is ninth best in program history.

UP NEXT

  • Northwood men's and women's track & field returns to action after winter break on January 17 for the SVSU Classic, again hosted by Saginaw Valley St.