Numerous Lakers Record Personal Bests at Miami Blizzard Buster

Rebecca Lathrop (Left) and David Mitter (Right)

OXFORD, Ohio – Numerous Lake Superior State track and field student-athletes garnered personal-best performances at the Miami Blizzard Buster on Saturday at George L. Rider Track.

On the men's side of the meet, sophomore David Mitter finished second out of 22 competitors in the 5,000-meter run with a personal-best time of 14:56.79 — almost half a minute faster than his previous personal best of 15:24.65, which was achieved at the St. Norbert Twilight Meet on March 29, 2018.

Joining Mitter in the 5,000-meter run was senior Jack Miles, who ran 15:54.42 — his fastest time in the event since running 15:28.48 at the Northwood GO MAD Open on April 8-9, 2016.

In the javelin throw, junior Caleb McCastle garnered a personal-best distance of 38.27 meters to finish eighth out of 18 competitors. His previous personal best of 36.71 meters was achieved at the Calvin Tune-Up on April 27-28, 2018. 

Junior Roger Willford recorded a personal-best distance of 6.26 meters in the long jump to finish seventh out of 16 competitors, who had a completed jump. The distance surpassed both his previous outdoor personal best (5.99 meters, GLIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, May 2-4, 2018) and his indoor personal best (6.17 meters, SVSU Holiday Open and Multis, Dec. 1-2, 2017). Willford also recorded a fourth-place finish in the pole vault with a cleared height of 4.57 meters.  

Senior Garrett Smith ran a time of 4:10.01 in the 1,500-meter run to finish 22nd out of 48 competitors.

Sophomores Luke Passino and Peter Shambaugh finished sixth and seventh in the 800-meter run with times of 1:59.49 and 2:00.44, respectively. Thirty-six runners completed the event.

On the women's side of the meet, junior Rebecca Lathrop ran a personal-best time of 5:03.29 in the 1,500-meter run to finish 14th out of 34 runners. Her previous personal best (5:10.55) was recorded at the GLIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships on May 2-4, 2018.

Sophomore Brittney Ryan finished seventh out of 17 competitors in the javelin throw with a personal-best distance of 30.02 meters. Her previous best (25.05 meters) was set at the Calvin Tune-Up on April 27-28, 2018.

Junior Elizabeth Setsuda, competing in her first outdoor track and field meet as a Laker, finished seventh out of 20 finishers in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.88.

In the high jump, sophomore Riley Collins cleared 1.65 meters to finish tied for 4th place. The height is a personal best for Collins — surpassing her previous outdoor personal best (1.60 meters, Calvin Tune-Up, April 27-28, 2018) and her previous overall personal best (1.63 meters, SVSU Tune-Up, Feb. 15, 2019).  

Freshman Leah Bell garnered a personal best in the 5,000-meter run as she crossed the line in 20:37.25. Her previous personal best at the 5,000-meter distance was 22:18.4, which Bell achieved during cross country season at the Hillsdale Invitational On Oct. 6, 2018. 

The Lakers are back in action at the at Auto-Owners Spartan Invitational, hosted by Michigan State, in East Lansing, Michigan on April 5-6. 

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