Anderson University hosted the AU Indoor Invitational on Saturday, a seven-team event in which the Ravens track and field teams competed for the first time this season. The Raven men got off to a fast start, winning the event with 123.50 points.
Garrett Cooley had a dominant afternoon, breaking the school record in the 60 Meter Dash and taking first place in the long jump. Cooley’s dash time was 6.93 seconds and his long jump was 6.85 meters.
“My goal was to break seven seconds in the dash,” Cooley explained. “Breaking the record was just an added bonus and something that was a total surprise to me.”
The men’s team also won the 4×200 relay. Cooley, Toluwani Adebakin, Derek Mallory and Jake Gehman comprise the relay team. Cooley believes that the relay team is also capable of breaking the school record in the 4×200 this season.
The Raven women placed fifth with 42 points. Tess Wise and Rachel Harrison claimed the top two spots in the 3000 meter run with times of 12:24 and 13:01. Mariah Murray finished second in the high jump.
“This weekend we had a solid team performance,” explained Cooley. “We had a lot of people battling illness put forth maximum effort. It was a good prep meet for conference.”