ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Capital University track and field team got the 2023 OAC Championships underway on Thursday on the campus of Mount Union. 

There, Capital secured an OAC Champion, three All-OAC finishes and several program top-10 performances, including a new steeplechase school record. 

The highlights for the day were Zion Park's pole vault win and Donovan Slattery's 3,000 meter steeplechase school record. 

Below is a full summary of the day one performances. Many more finals and events will take place tomorrow leaving plenty of opportunity for further quality showings. 

MEN
Pole Vault: Capital made a splash in the pole vault, scoring all three of their performers in the event. Zion Park claimed top honors, winning the event, by clearing the bar at 4.66 meters – matching his career-best in the event. Andy Fullmer also laid claim to an All-OAC finish, placing third at a height of 4.26 meters. Wesley Triplett rounded it out by finishing eighth at a height of 4.11 meters. Park is Capital's first OAC champion in an event since Josh Miller won the shot put in 2021. The All-OAC honor for Park is also his second consecutive outdoor All-OAC award as he placed third a year ago. 

Javelin: Andy Fullmer got back on the podium, finishing third overall in the javelin throw, tossing a distance of 47.75 meters. Jason McColl also threw, tossing 42.69 meters to place 11th. The distance narrowly missed his own personal best in the event. 

3,000m Steeplechase: Donovan Slattery smashed the school record in the steeplechase, running a time of 9:35.18 to place fifth overall. The time is a more than 10-second PR and passes up Brent Nehrenz's previous record of 9:40.39 run in 2013. 

Long Jump: Dylan Dowell narrowly missed scoring position as his leap of 6.54 meters placed him ninth, just .08 meters from the last scoring position. 

100m Dash: Dom Glenn qualified for the finals in the shortest sprint of the day, clocking in a time of 10.97 seconds to seed him eighth for tomorrow's finals. The time of 10.97 seconds is a .05 second improvement for himself after last week's 11.02 seconds. He moved from 10th all-time in Cap history to sole possession of fourth surpassing a group of six men who all ran 10.99 seconds across a 40-year time period from 1941-1981.   

400m Hurdles: Kaden Lowe ran a new PR time of 56.82 seconds in the full lap hurdle race, finishing ninth overall. The time moves him from 10th all-time in the event up to ninth, leapfrogging Norm Boyer's time of 57.38 seconds. Kelly Wilson II also ran, finishing in 1:00.61 for 15th place. 

4x800m Relay: The foursome of Andy Fullmer, Nick Stuck, Zach Glotzbecker and Donovan Slattery placed seventh with a time of 8:46.39 to take in two team points. The time marks the seventh fastest 4x800 relay in program history. 

WOMEN
Discus: Grace Heckenlively secured the team's first points on the women's side as she placed sixth in the discus throw with a launch of 38.51 meters. The distance for Heckenlively also marked a personal best and moved her from sixth to fifth on the program top-10 list. Lily Purdon also competed, just missing scoring position by placing ninth with a mark of 35.51 meters. The PR distance for Purdon just missed the top-10 list by .04 meters. 

100m Dash: Cece Samuels will race in tomorrow's finals after running a time of 12.71 seconds in today's prelims. The time missed the top-10 program list by just one hundredth of a second. Larissa Agbor-Nkongho placed 10th with a time of 12.74 seconds. 

200m Dash: Samuels got back in the finals for the 200 meter dash as well after running a prelim time of 26.21 seconds to seed seventh. The time puts them on the program top-10 list as the ninth fastest 200 meter dash in program history. Agbor-Nkongho again placed 10th running a time of 26.66 seconds. 

400m Hurdles: Maria Da Cunha qualified fourth for the 400m hurdle finals after running a prelim time of 1:07.83. The time is a full two second PR in the event and bumps her up from 10th best in program history all the way up to fifth. 

4x800m Relay: The group of Olivia Humes, Erniesha Guerrier, Elizabeth Mak and Alexa Daley clocked a time of 11:21.52 to place eighth and grab a team point.