The Basics

Event: Joe LaRocco Invitational

Location: Salem, VA

The Lead: Roanoke College and the Cregger Center Field House played host to the 2022 Joe LaRocco Invitational, named for the Maroon Hall of Famer that passed away in January of 2021. Multiple school records would fall as Roanoke placed numerous athletes in the top three of multiple events.

Men's Highlights:

• 60m Hurdles; Xavier O'Brien won the event while posting a, Roanoke College record, 8.40, the 2^nd fastest time in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) this season. O'Brien added a 4^th place effort (7.17) in the 60-meter sprint.
• 60M: Brady Fowler blistered the track in 6.99 to post a new school record on his way to winning the event and now owns the 2^nd fastest ODAC time this year.
• 4000DMR: The quartet of Matt Garis, Cameron Ballinger, Andrew Gregorits, and Joshua Woodley posted the srd best ODAC time this season when they finished the event in 11:59.31.
• 5000M: Peter Smith (15:58.48) and Chamberlain Zulauf (16:11.65) finished 2-3 in the longest event of the day.
• Pole Vault: Edward Rygalski finished 4^th with a final height of 3.90m.
• High Jump and Long Jump: Hunter Bohon earned a pair of top 5 finishes with jumps of 1.75m (HJ) and 5.74m (LJ).

Women's Highlights:

• 400M: Mikayla Hefferon posted the only sub-one-minute time in the ODAC this season when she won the event in a final time of 59.53.
• High Jump and 60m Hurdles: Cammi Winston finished runner-up with a jump of 1.55m in the High Jump and returned later to finish 4th with a time of 9.98 in the 60m Hurdles. Lily Lippert (10.32) and Olivia Hurley 10.55) rounded out the top 4.
• Pole Vault: Chloe Van Duyne was the runner-up when she cleared the 3.20m mark.
• 800m: The reigning ODAC Field Athlete of the Week, Hannah Koepfinger posted the 5^th fasted time in the ODAC this year when she finished in 2:29.15 to finish second.
• Weight Throw and Shot Put: Grace Fowler was runner-up in the weight throw with a final mark of 14.10m and then finished 4^th in the shot with 11.02m when she finished just behind teammate Tiera Hudson, who was 3^rd with a throw of 11.09.
• 200M: Taylor Poole was 3^rd in the event when she crossed the finish line in 3^rd in 27.05, sixth fastest ODAC time this season.

Up Next: The Maroons will be back at the Cregger Center next Saturday when they host the Roanoke Invitational Challenge.