Day 1 Results - Day 2 Results
By Andrew Springer, GoMessiah.com reporter
Lewisburg, PA — While Messiah students were enjoying a time away from classes over the weekend, the Falcons' track and field program was still working hard at the 13th annual Bison Open & Multi, hosted by Bucknell University Friday and Saturday. A number of Messiah athletes competed at the two-day meet and finished with very respectable marks against the NCAA Division-II dominated field.
Junior Tyler Newhook led the Falcons with an outstanding race in the 800-meter run, winning the event by over three seconds with a time of 1:54.62. The time provisionally qualifiedTyler for the 2011 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships.
“It's exciting to go out and in my first 800 (-meter race) of the season, provisionally qualify for nationals,” Newhook said. “I know what I need to do to improve from here.”
Also in the 800-meter run, freshman Trevor Praetsch (2:04.22) and senior Taylor Munoz (2:04.79) qualified for the MAC (Middle Atlantic Conference) Championships. Both ran indoor career bests.
In the throws, senior Alyssa Lengel competed in the 20-pound weight throw, and on her final throw of the day, recorded a mark of 12.12 meters (39 feet, 9 inches), breaking the school record in the event set by Medalana Smith (2006) with a mark of 39 feet, 8 inches.
In the distance events, the conference qualifying marks continued to come. The Falcons were led in the 5,000-meter run by junior Courtney Long (18:55, seventh overall), followed closely by fellow junior Mary Higgins (19:00, eighth). On the men's side, juniors Zach Hoagland (16:07), Nathan Myers (16:14), Daniel Herring (16:23), Caleb Liddick (16:27) and Matt Herring (16:29) all qualified for the conference meet in the 5,000. Messiah has now qualified six men for the event, a feat the team has not accomplished in several years.
While the juniors led the distance events, it was freshmen leading the squad in the 60-meter hurdles. Freshmen Liz Martin (9.33) and Amber Stephan (9.74) managed to finish fourth and seventh, respectively, in the event — both outstanding performances also conference qualifying marks.
Junior Katie Craven represented Messiah in the sprints, running an :08.25 (11th overall) in the 60-meter dash, and a :26.72 (eighth) in the 200-meter dash, joining the bevy of conference qualifiers for the Falcons over the weekend. Craven's 200 time was also a new school record mark, beating Jess Sauve's 2003 time of :26.96.
“My 200 (-meter dash) felt pretty good, but I need to get in more workouts,” Craven said.
“It was just awesome to watch both our experienced upperclassmen competing well in the distance events and in the throws, as well as our freshmen stepping up in the hurdles,” said Dale Fogelsanger, Messiah head coach. “We've got a lot of potential going forward from here, and we have a good idea of where we stand now.”
The Messiah track and field team will next compete Saturday at Ursinus College in the Frank Colden Invitational in Collegeville, Pa.
