Merrill, Ray end careers on top at Horizon League indoor meet

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Competing in their final Horizon League indoor championships, senior Aaron Merrill and Robyn Ray ended their indoor careers on a high note as both captured Horizon League titles over the weekend at the league indoor meet.

Merrill, who redshirted last season during the indoor campaign, defended his 2008 shot put title as he was victorious in the event with a throw of 17.44m (57-foot-2 3/4).

Merrill also took second in the weight throw with a distance of 17.53m (57-6 1/4).

Ray overcame a second-place finish in the high jump a year ago to win the event this season with a distance of 1.60m (5-3). With the finish, it is the third consecutive year that Ray has had a top-five at the league meet.

As teams, the men finished third and the women finished fifth. Milwaukee swept the titles, just as they did a season ago.

The Penguins continued their dominance in throws events as junior Jeremiah Folger and freshmen Bobby Grace, John Seaver, and Benjamin Goodnight all scored on the men’s side.

For the women, junior Marissa Opper, sophomores Kaitlyn Griffith and KaiCee Kubicina, and freshman Alison Roth all had top-six finishes.

In the shot put, Grace finished third (15.58m), Seaver took fourth (15.54m), and Folger (15.20m) claimed fifth. The weight throw saw Folger finish fifth (16.09m) and Goodnight finish sixth (15.85m).

Griffith threw a personal-best mark 13.26m (43-6) in the shot put to finish second. Kubincina finished two spots behind in fourth (12.41m) and Roth took fifth (12.23m) in the event. Opper was the top Penguin finisher in the weight throw with a distance of 16.30m (53-3 3/4) to take fourth.

Also in field events, junior Bryin Ehrhardt finished second in the high jump by clearing 2.04m (6-8 1/4). Senior Stephanie Jarvis finished fifth in the pole vault (3.10m) and sophomore Laura Kosiorek finished sixth in the triple jump with a distance of 11.39m (37-4 1/2).

Freshmen Michael Davis and Tarelle Irwin were the top Penguin finishers in sprints events.

Davis ran a second-place time of 22.35 seconds in the 200m dash, while Irwin was right behind in third with a time of 22.42 seconds. In the 60m dash, Davis took third (6.99) and Irwin finished sixth (7.09).

Fellow freshmen Symona Gregory and Kenya Garner were the top female performers in sprints events. Gregory finished fourth in the 60m dash with a time of 7.81 and Garner added a pair of sixth-place finishes in the 60m dash (7.90) and in the 200m dash (25.84).

Senior Lauren Blase scored in the three events for the Penguins at the meet. Blase finished in fifth in both the 5,000m (17:49.14) and the 3,000m (10:11.64) and took sixth in the mile with a time of 5:09.46.

The Penguins are slated to travel to South Bend, Ind. to compete in the Alex Wilson Invitational on Friday.