VertKlasse sees record times, close finishes
By Nolan Stout
One of the biggest meets with the best teams. That is how Coach Mike Esposito described the VertKlasse Meeting at HPU’s Vert Stadium, which featured over 25 colleges and upwards of 1,000 athletes on March 24.
The meet derives the name “Vertklasse” from two sources: a famous Swiss race called the VeltKlasse, meaning “world class,” and Vert comes from Dick Vert, for whom the stadium is named.
The Panthers had a total of 19 top-ten finishers in the meet. The men had eight individual top-five finishers while the women placed four in the top five.
Looking at the women’s side for the Panthers, the sprinters are led by senior Manika Gamble.
“She’s probably one of the better hurdlers on the East Coast,” said Coach Esposito.
Gamble placed third in both the 400-meter hurdles (58.85) and the 200-meter dash (24.67) at VertKlasse. She is a school record holder in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles as well as a national qualifier in those two events.
Coach Esposito feels the team should be strong in the steeplechase this season with senior Kelsey Fraser and sophomore Audrey Mallory.
Both placed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at VertKlasse. Fraser, defending champion of the event, took first (11:23.34), while Malloy finished fifth (12:07.66).
Sophomore Kaitlin Whittington finished third for the Panthers in the triple jump with a distance of 11.18 meters.
On the men’s side, Coach Esposito said, “This is probably the best overall track team we’ve had since I’ve been here.”
In the sprinting events, the men are led by sophomore Evan Emery, who placed first in the 200-meter dash with a HPU-record time of 20.87. The record was previously held by Kent Sides, who ran the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.45 in 1983. Emery defeated Jamaal Torrance, a runner for Team USA who won a gold medal in the 4×400-meter relay at the 2008 IAAF World Championships.
Another winner at VertKlasse was junior Jacob Smith, who placed first in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:48.14. Smith defeated junior Domenick DeMatteo from Duke, who had been named to the NCAA All-East team last year. Smith is also a national qualifier in the steeplechase.
Freshman Christian Spaulding threw 61.25 meters in Javelin, taking second.
Esposito said Spaulding is, “one of the best throwers in the country.”
The men had five other top five finishers at Vertklasse. Freshman Justin Doehr placed fourth in the 400-meter run. Senior Alex Fisher placed fifth in the 110-meter hurdles. In the 5,000-meter run, sophomore Patrick Crawford, freshman Jeff LaCoste and senior Mike Ali finished second, third and fifth, respectively.
At the meet, Bill Webb was honored for his contribution to track and field at HPU. Webb ran track at HPU before moving on to coach at Florida and Tennessee, winning national titles in the sport at those schools. Webb is currently retired and in the national track and field hall of fame.
The Panthers track & field team has five more meets before the Big South Championship in Myrtle Beach on April 19-21.