A strong showing from both the John Carroll University Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field teams began this week in Muskingum’s Amy Adams Invitational at the Johnson Family Track in New Concord, OH as the Men’s team took home second place while the Women’s team took home third. 

Men’s Track & Field

Following a second-place finish at the Ohio Athletic Conference Indoor Championships, the Blue Streaks carried their momentum into the outdoor campaign. 

Ethan Domitrovich ‘24 set the tone early with a record-setting time of 6:06.60 in the 2000m Steeplechase. The junior broke the record previously set by Ryan Scanlon in 2018 (6:26.38). His teammate, Ian Paul ‘26, finished in second with a time of 6:41.80. 

“All in all I was pleased with my performance on Saturday, especially given the windy conditions and for this being our first outdoor meet of the year. I believe that this race will help to put me in position to achieve the goals that I have set for myself this season,” says Domitrovich. “Earning the meet record, which was held by JCU alum Ryan Scanlon, was a nice bonus to the weekend. I was excited to help continue to contribute to the JCU track and field legacy, even in more minor ways such as this.”

Personal records continued to be a consistent theme in the Amy Adams Invitational as two more Blue and Gold runners had career days. John Shoemaker ‘24 set a new PR of 15:22.23 in the 5000m which earned him sixth place. Meanwhile, Mike Shipman (graduate student) placed third in the 1500m courtesy of a PR time of 4:13.50. 

Veteran Joe Backus ‘23 competed in the 800m for only the third time in his career and came away with a PR of his own with a time of 1:58.59 which was enough to place second. 

“I prepared for this race by going in and expecting that anything could happen since I usually don’t race the shorter events,” says Backus. “This mindset helped me achieve second place and break two for the first time.”

As for Backus, he relied on his past experience to help propel him to a second-place finish in an event he is not very familiar with.

“When it comes to my experience, it helped me out as I know when it comes to shorter events, I’m the type of runner who has the strength to make a strong close at the end of a race.”

Women’s Track & Field

Similar to Men’s, the Women’s Outdoor Track and Field received contributions from several runners resulting in a third-place finish.

The Blue Streaks had their fingerprints all over the 800m as six Blue Streaks finished in the top seven spots. Abby Schroff ‘26 (2:26.94) narrowly beat out her teammate Ellie Kitsmiller ‘25 (2:26.95) as they finished in first and second place respectively. Right behind them were Claire Eberhardt ‘24 and Morgan Edwards ‘25 who finished neck and neck with respective times of 2:28.03 and 2:28.28.

In the 400m hurdles, Rosie Murray ‘26 was crowned champion with a time of 1:07.82, doing just enough to beat out Ohio Wesleyan’s Aliisa James who finished with a time of 1:07.83.

In the field events, several Blue and Gold athletes demonstrated their power in the Hammer Throw. Kelsey Dunn (graduate student) led the way with a fourth-place finish of 42.57m. Sarah Hart ‘26 (38.56m) and Cara Jewett ‘25 (36.66m) also placed in the top-15 to help secure John Carroll’s third-place finish. 

John Carroll Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field will look to emulate their success when they compete in both the WVU Mountaineer Classic and the Dave Labor Invitational on Sat., April 1.