READING, Pa. - The Messiah men's track & field team ended the 2020 MAC Indoor Championships with an eighth-place finish Saturday afternoon at Alvernia University. Messiah picked up 47 team points on the weekend to finish just a point behind seventh-place Eastern (48 points).
The Falcons were led by a third-place finish in the 800 Meter by
Matthew Royer (1:56.94), a fourth-place finish in the 5,000 Meter by
Nate Romberger (15:34.85), and a fourth-place finish from
Josiah Zehr in the Pole Vault as he cleared 4.20 meters.
The Falcons will be back in action this Saturday, Mar. 7 when they travel to the Tufts National Qualifying Meet at 12:00 p.m.
In the Results
Along with the three top-five finishes from
Matthew Royer,
Nate Romberger, and
Josiah Zehr, Messiah earned seven marks that will appear in the program record books as top-10 marks in program history. Additionally, Messiah had a number of Falcons turn in personal bests in a variety of events.
Matthew Royer highlighted the Championship effort for the Falcons, taking third place in the 800 Meter with a time of 1:56.94. Mitchell Forgash from King's won the event in a time of 1:54.37, but Royer claimed six team points for the Falcons.
On Friday,
Nate Romberger earned a fourth-place finish 5,000 Meter and on Saturday
Josiah Zehr placed fourth in the Pole Vault, clearing 4.20 meters, to account for Messiah's other top-five individual finishes on the weekend.
As mentioned, the Falcons had seven marks that will find their way onto the program's top-10.
Chris Muchimba turned in two top-10 Messiah marks in the 60 Meter and 200 Meter. Muchimba turned in the eighth fastest time in program history in the 60 Meter with a time of 7.37 and the ninth fastest in the 200 Meter (23.78).
Messiah turned in the fifth fastest time in program history in both the 4x200 Meter Relay (1:34.70) and the Distance Medley Relay (10:29.89). Messiah finished fourth in the Distance Medley Relay and fifth in the 4x200 Meter Relay, earning nine points between the two relays.
Mike Williams put his name on Messiah's top-10 list in the 60 Meter Hurdles with a time of 9.22. He finished 16th in the event at the Championship.
In the Heptathlon,
Caleb Puleo turned in the fifth best mark with 4,246 points, a new personal best. Puleo finished fifth in the event.
Josiah Provan also turned in a personal best in the event, picking up 3,353 points.
Other personal bests included
Cassidy Hoffman (800 Meter - 2:02.56),
Isaac Covert (Mile - 4:38.49),
Logan Horst (3,000 Meter - 9:02.26),
Andrew Hutchinson (3,000 Meter - 9:13.21), and
Josiah Moyer (5,000 Meter - 16:06.55).
With his time of 9:02.26,
Logan Horst finished in sixth place, earning three points for the Falcons.
What's Up Next
Messiah will wrap-up the indoor regular season with a handful of Falcons heading to the Tufts National Qualifying Meet next Saturday, beginning at 12:00 p.m.
