After an intense day of competition in Berea, Ohio, the John Carroll University Men’s Track & Field team left with multiple accolades across the board. 

John Carroll’s Men’s Indoor Track & Field Team currently ranks No. 5 in the country according to a week one poll from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. 

Saturday’s performances from Jimmy Kartsonas ‘24, Gabe Ernest ‘22 and Zach Szafarski ‘23 solidified why the Blue Streaks’ should be in the top five going forward. 

Kartsonas won the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.5 seconds while setting the meet record at the Baldwin Wallace Dr. Taraschke Team Challenge. 

“It’s really cool to have been the fastest person to have ever run at that meet, especially since I’m not primarily a sprinter either,” said Kartsonas. “Coach Tutskey and I worked on 40-meter block starts in preparation for that event. I’ve also been doing yoga every day to help with the recovery process.” 

On the distance side of the meet, Ernest also set a meet record in the 800-meter clocking in at 1:56.98, while also taking home gold for the event. Ian Pierson ‘22 won the 5K, finishing with a time of 15:58.4, carrying over his success from the cross country season. 

Other notable performances include Szafarski, who placed 5th in the weight throw with a huge distance of 15.41. Evan Piscitani ‘25 won the 500-meter dash with a personal record of 1:06.6 in his second collegiate track & field meet. 

Michael Jones ‘23 had a massive day by setting two personal records in the 55-meter and the 200-meter, continuing his streak of rapid improvement week after week. 

The final scores of the meet had John Carroll taking the third place accolades with 75 points, trailing Carnegie Mellon and Case Western totaling 173 and 112 points, respectively. 

The Blue Streaks will head to Ashland University for the Ashland Alumni Open on Friday, Feb. 4, and Saturday, Feb. 5 to continue their electrifying season.