The John Carroll University men’s track and field team traveled to Tiffin, Ohio, to compete in the unscored indoor Dragon Grand Prix meet on Saturday, Feb. 8. 

The coaching staff decided to switch things up for junior sprinter Deven Ward. Ward made his first-ever appearance in the indoor long jump on Saturday, Feb. 10. Ward lived up to the expectations of the coaches by finishing second place with a mark of 6.83 meters.  

Freshman thrower Zach Szafarski showed his strength in the weight throw competition by finishing 17th with a distance of 14.63 meters — a new personal best. 

Freshman sprinter Mick Doyle’s most notable performance of the day was his third-place finish in the 200-meter dash in 22.93 seconds. Doyle also finished 15th in the 60-meter dash in 8.77 seconds, hitting a new personal record. 

Following Doyle in the 60-meter dash was sophomore Zach Gerber, who made his first-ever collegiate appearance, garnishing a 16th place with a finish of 8.80 seconds. 

In the distance events, freshman Ryan Kiley finished 23rd in the one-mile run with a time of 4:44.18 minutes. 

Mark Zahren finished sixth in the 400-meter race with a time of 52.76 seconds. In the 800-meter race, James Mangan took 24th place out of the 63 runners in the event, with a finishing time of 2:06.99. 

The only first-place honor the team received this past weekend in Tiffin was courtesy of Corey Minton’s victory in the triple jump with a mark of 13.87 meters. Anton Peregonocev claimed a sixth-place spot with a mark of 12.13 meters.

John Carroll will be back in action on Saturday, Feb.15, for the All-Ohio Championships in Westerville, Ohio. Check JCU Sports information for the time, which will be released closer to the event.