Trojans Finish Fourth in Crossroads League Championship
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Trojans wrapped up the second day of competition at the 2022 Crossroads League Championships hosted by Bethel University at the University of Notre Dame. The Taylor men performed well against high-level competition as they gathered one individual league victory and seven top-five finishes. As the rain dropped steady throughout the day, the Purple and Gold accumulated a total of 93 points and finished in fourth place as a team. Marian won the meet with 173 points, Grace finished second with 116 points and Bethel claimed third with 110.5 points.
Connor White claimed TU's only individual league title on Friday, finishing first place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. White clocked a dominant time of 9:20.66. Taylor's Zach Hoekstra cruised to a second-place finish, logging a mark of 9:31.47. Quinn Rudy finished ninth (10:08.97), while Jack Hammond crossed in 11th (10:15.55).
Matthew Sakeuh raced to two All-Crossroads League performances. Sakeuh finished as the runner-up in the 110-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 14.70. The senior then went on to claim third place in the 400-meter hurdles. Sakeuh recorded a personal-best time of 54.86. Fellow hurdler, Sammy Sommers, snagged fourth place in the 400-hurdles with a career-best mark of 55.24.
Liam Hesting threw the discus 45.08-meters, claiming six points in the field events for the day. Hesting finished in third place overall.
Two Trojans turned in exciting mid-distance races, as both men logged lifetime-best marks. Nate Conkel posted a time of 1:54.19 in the 800-meters, finishing sixth overall. Ben Eiffert broke the 4:00-barrier for the first time in the 1,500-meters. Eiffert cranked out a time of 3:58.32, placing sixth.
In the 5,000-meters, Derek Van Prooyen ran a time of 15:02.11 and claimed fifth place overall.
Cole Whitehead added a 10th-place finish in the 400-meters, logging a time of 50.93.
To wrap up the meet, Taylor's 4x400-meter relay, including Matthew Sakeuh, Braden Bixler, Nate Conkel and Isaac Cornfield, grabbed sixth place with a time of 3:31.54.
The Trojans will return to the track next Friday and Saturday for a final tune-up before the NAIA National Championships. The TU men will compete at the University of St. Francis Fighting Chance Meet in Joliet, Illinois on May 13 and 14, then will travel to Gulf Shores, Alabama for nationals on May 25-27.