HANOVER, Ind. – The Hanover men's and women's track and field teams are set to open the 2021 season with a trip to DePauw for the Tiger Invite on Friday, February 5.
 
THE WOMEN IN 2020: The Panther women had great success as part of the DePauw Indoor Invitational last season, taking second overall in the 15-team field. Hanover was paced by a record-breaking performance from junior Arig Tong (Columbus, Ind.). The junior won the mile with a time of 5:17.29.
 
Sophomore Zaleeya Martin (Shelbyville, Ind.) also recorded a strong performance in the 60-meter dash where she claimed the top spot in a time of 8.07 seconds. She was also a member of the 4x200-meter relay, teaming up with sophomore Alijah Craig (Milan, Ind.), junior Makenzie Carroll (Richmond, Ky.), and junior Alexis Gerke (Cincinnati, Ohio) to win the event in a time of 1:52.14.
 
THE MEN AT DEPAUW: The Hanover men's track and field team also had a strong showing a season ago taking fifth overall in the 17-team field. Leading the charge was  the 4x200-meter relay team of junior Bryce Gatewood (Noblesville, Ind.), Paxton Caldwell, junior Justin Johnson (Camby, Ind.), and sophomore Aaron Rodgers (Noblesville, Ind. / Cathedral) who garnered a second place finish with a time of 1:35.14. Gatewood also claimed a runner-up finish in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.97 seconds, while teammate Johnson set a personal best time in the 600-meter run.
 
 THE SCHEDULE: After opening the season on Friday, the Panthers head to Terre Haute, Ind. on Friday, Feb. 12 for the Friday Night Spikes meet hosted by Rose-Hulman.
 
PRESEASON POLL: The Panthers landed as one of the favorites to repeat as HCAC Indoor Champions this season earning 91 points, just shy of the favorite Rose-Hulman with 93 points.
 
The men also claimed a runner-up mark with 85 points, following Rose-Hulman as the preseason favorite with 100 points.