Results

by Joel Zeigler, GoMessiah.com reporter

Selinsgrove, PA - Messiah College track and field returned from more than a month break to restart their competition at the Susquehanna Indoor Orange & Maroon Classic this weekend. They didn't waste any time either, starting off the meet with two straight wins – in the men's and women's distance medley relay. The men's race, which included an 800 leg that saw sophomore Phil Headland's return to the distance after an injury 11 months ago, finished in 10:53.33. The women came in at 13:40.36, highlighted by Tiffany Burrows' 61 second 400 meter split.
 
In other relay news, the women's 4x400 earned a third place finish with a time of 4:21.3. The women's 4x200 finished fifth.
 
For the distance runners, the main event was the 3000 meters. Twenty-one men and women ran the event for the Falcons, and all garnered excellent races. Tyler Sensenig (9:13), Alex Faus (9:16), Joshua Pardoe (9:24), and Nathan Fleming (9:25) all qualified for the MAC championship meet in the event for men. Jenny Bender finished second in the women's 3000 with a 10:50, easily qualifying her for MACs. Also qualifying was Tasha Becker (11:44).

Coach Brian Hager was enthused with the results. "They ran good, smart races. I was impressed with both the 'racing' and the 'pacing.' Great performances."
 
The middle distances provided some excitement as well. Senior Trevor Praetsch closed extremely well to win his heat of the 800 (2:04.52). Freshman Julie Heisey surprised some as she posted the second fastest time of the night in the women's 800, running 2:27.11.  In the mile, Merced Ramirez broke the 5:00 barrier for the first time as a Falcon, posting a time of 4:57.14.
 
Another Falcons victory turned up later as Aaron Powell took the high jump at 6'2" (1.88m), unchallenged after 5'10". In the women's high jump, freshmen Hadlee Coker and Marie Johnson impressed onlookers with third and fourth place finishes, respectively, each in 4'11.75" (1.52m).
 
In the long jump, two Messiah jumpers met the MAC standard. Marie Johnson hit 14'4" (4.38m) for the women, and in the men, Drew Engle jumped 19'0.5" (5.8m).
 
There were good performances in the sprints as well. In the women's 200, Liz Martin and Tiff Burrows took third and fifth in 27.72 and 28.17, respectively, both of them qualifying for the MAC meet. Juniors Alex Yoder and Nicholas White posted MAC qualifiers in the 200 as well, sprinting to a 23.45 and a 24.18, good enough for second and fourth. Also notable in the 200 was Mark Engle, who ran 24.44, the exact time needed to meet the MAC standard.
 
In the 400, Luke Aumen qualified for MACs with a 54.59, and Brady Miller posted a one-second improvement over Messiah's first meet in December, his 53.78 good enough for sixth. On the women's side of the 400, Rachel Bowser also qualified for MACs, running 1:06.31.
 
The 60 meter dash saw some success as well. Alex Yoder finished fourth with a time of 7.27. In the event, Mark Engle, Tim Hampton and Tim Minnick both ran MAC standards during the preliminary rounds; Hampton's time was good enough for a personal record. Liz Martin sprinted to third place in the women's 60 with an 8.14.
 
In the 60 high hurdles, Nicholas White garnered second place in 8.91. Lyndsay Feather finished in fifth for the women with a 10.62.
 
As usual, the throwing events found the Falcons doing well. The freshmen women started their Messiah careers well, as Natalie Booz and Rachel Chopka threw 28'10" (8.8m) and 27'7.5" (8.41m) in the shot put. Trevor Stutzman won the shot put with a 52'10" (16.1m) . This mark tied his personal record and as of prior to this weekend would rank him seventh in the nation in the event. In the weight throw, Michael Boyles beat his previous PR by over a meter, throwing 38'11.75" (11.88m), and qualifying him for the MAC meet.
 
"We had positive, solid performances for our first meet of the calendar year," Coach Dale Fogelsanger summarized. "We demonstrated that we have a strong freshman class all around."
 
The Orange and Maroon Classic began a long barrage of meets for the Falcons. They will return to action on January 25th at Haverford College.

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