Results -
Photo Gallery
with Andrew Spring and Caleb McGaughran
Collegeville, PA - Messiah College' track and field team competed in their second meet of their indoor season on Friday, traveling to the Collegeville Classic at Ursinus College. Several individuals did well in their respective events, leading the men to a three-way tie for second place with both Lebanon Valley College and Gwynedd-Mercy College. Each school scored a total of 67 points. The women's team placed fifth overall in the meet with a total of 45 points.
Freshman
Fred Fulton helped the score for the men by grabbing the first place spot in the men's shot put event. Throwing at 14.72 meters to win the seat, Fulton came just shy of his school breaking record of 14.82 meters at Dickinson College last month. Fellow freshman
Trevor Stutzman also enjoyed a good performance, earning the fourth place spot by throwing 14.03 meters. Together, Stutzman and Fulton were able to contribute 15 points to the men's team.
Several of Messiah's middle distance runners also enjoyed good performances. Senior
Tyler Newhook placed second in the men's one mile race with a time of 4:23.74.
Mary Higgins, also a senior, grabbed the first place spot with a time of 5:36.27 in the women's one mile event. The men's team was able to obtain 12 points from the one mile event, while the women grabbed 16, with junior
Jessica Dillner claiming third place with a time of 5:38.80. Both Higgins and Dillner improved on their seeds, placing out of the second heat of the event.
Freshman
Eric Witmer raced well in the men's 800 meter event, placing second with a time of 2:02.40. Witmer brought eight points to Messiah with his second place finish.
In the men's long jump, freshman
Josh Stary made his collegiate debut. Having only joined the team less than a week earlier, Stary jumped 6.16 meters to finish fourth overall to bring five points to the team.
On the women's side, sophomore
Liz Martin placed fourth in the 60 meter dash with a time of 8.14 seconds. Martin also grabbed the sixth place spot in the women's 60 meter hurdles event with a time of 9.48 seconds. From her events, Martin was able to bring a combined score of eight points to the women's team.
Senior Captain Katherine Craven had a disappointing race in the 400 meter dash, but managed to bounce back shortly afterwards and capture fourth (27.38) in the 200 meter dash. With her placing Craven was able to contribute five points to the women's team.
When it came to the relays, Messiah did not disappoint. The 4x200 meter relay was run by freshman
Alex Yoder, senior
Drew Melnick, freshman
Nicholas White, and senior
Derek Black, running a 1:35.01 and capturing third place.
Out of the many athletes who set personal records during the meet, none was happier than senior
Andrew Springer. Over his Messiah career, Springer has pursued breaking five minutes in the mile. That finally happened when he placed first in his heat with a time of 4:58.18.
“It's good to have the monkey off my back,” says Springer, reflecitng on his achievement. “The race was fun and I hope to build up from this going on.”
Messiah's performance at the Collegeville Classic proved to be a good start to the new year and the team is looking forward to their next competition. Messiah will be travelling with a partial squad to Bucknell University and Lebanon Valley College on January 27-28. The next time the complete team competes together will be at the Du Charme Invitational at Dickinson College on February 4.
