The John Carroll Men’s Track & Field Team displayed their depth and strength while sending squads to the John Homon Open and the Mason Spring Invitational. 

At both meets, John Carroll competed against a wide variety of talent ranging from NCAA Division I to NCAA Division III track and field teams. 

“It was incredible seeing JCU compete against the big dogs,” said Cameron Klauke ‘23.
“With so many of our guys topping runners who receive scholarship money to compete, it just proves, even more, to pick a school and not a division.”

John Homon Open 

The throwers for the Blue Streaks began their weekend competition as early as Thursday, April 7 at the John Homon Open. The meet took place at the University of  Mount Union. 

The Blue Streak’s squad in Alliance, Ohio, consisted of their throwers, who made a strong mark against larger NCAA institutions. 

Matthew Russo ‘25 continued his impressive first-year campaign for John Carroll as he threw 45.63 meters in the discus event. Russo’s finish was the top finish for an NCAA Division III school, finishing behind only NCAA Division I and II throwers. 

John Carroll was well represented in the discus event as Zach Szafarski ‘23 finished with a mark of 40.28 meters, breaking the top 15. 

Russo finished in 8th place in the shot put and was the highest NCAA Division III thrower. His 13.68-meter mark bested individuals from Youngstown State University, Ashland University, Walsh University and Lake Erie College. 

Mason Spring Invitational 

On Saturday, April 9, many of the sprinters from the Blue Streaks competed in Fairfax, Virginia, at the Mason Spring Invitational. 

In a field filled with NCAA Division I competitors, Mick Doyle ‘23 had a dominant day in the short sprints. 

Doyle’s 55.12 second finish earned him a new PR in the 400-meter hurdles. 

Doyle, who has continually improved throughout the season, besting his PR multiple times, currently ranks in the top 20 nationally in the 400-meter hurdles. 

“Our outdoor sprint training has been paying off extremely well,” said Klauke. “Our coach Daniel Tutskey has set a multiple-week workout plan in motion and it has been working for all of us. For example, Mark Zahren ran a lifetime best sub 50 second 400m dash, while Mick Doyle just cut 2 seconds off his 400m Hurdles personal record.” 

In the 100-meter race, Jimmy Kartsonas ‘24, Mark Zahren ‘22 and Klauke all finished within the top 20 out of the 42 competitors in the event. 

Kartsonas recorded a new personal record via a time of 11.18 seconds. Zahren and Klauke clocked in at 11.28 and 11.37 seconds, respectively. 

John Carroll’s quartet composed of Klauke, Doyle, Zahren and Kartsonas made an impressive 4th place finish in the 4×100 relay. Their time of 42.41 seconds was the top time for an NCAA Division III school competing in the event. 

The 4×100 meter relay is hoping to continue their success as they hopefully compete on the national level later this season. 

“We have our eyes set on making a splash at the Division III National championship,” said Klauke. “While the distance crew is constantly showing up in big meets, our sprinters of Garrett Clark, Mick Doyle, and the Men’s 4x100m relay really have a shot of pushing us towards a podium finish on a national level.”

Zahren and Klauke continued to make strides against other Division I institutions as they finished 23rd and 26th, respectively, in the 200-meter race. Their times of 22.31 and 22.47 seconds earned them a solid mark as they competed against 54 other runners in the event. 

Finally, in the field events, Corey Minton ‘23 finished in 6th place with a measure of 13.86 meters in the triple jump. His mark was just shy of 13.86 meters. 

The Blue Streaks will split squads once again this upcoming weekend, competing in three different meets. On April 15 and April 16, the Blue & Gold will compete in the Tiffin Track Carnival in Tiffin, Ohio, at 10:30 a.m.. 

Another set of John Carroll runners will compete on Friday, April 15, in the Bucknell University Invitational in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. 

Finally, on Saturday, April 16, team members will also compete at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. 

Times for the Bucknell University Invitational and the meet at Ohio Wesleyan University are TBA on jcusports.com.