CHESTER, Pa. – The Messiah men's track and field team competed in the second day of the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Widener University on Friday morning and afternoon.
Brody Beiler earned his second medal of the championship competition after notching a third-place finish in the 3000m steeplechase
Beiler, just a day after posting the fourth-fastest 10000m time (31:33.91) in Messiah men's track program history, earned a bronze medal in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 9:52.09. With a previous personal-best time of 10:03.04, Beiler crushed the 10-minute threshold in just the second time running the event this season.
Josiah Provan competed in the concluding events of the decathlon in the morning. Entering the day with 2786 points, Provan's efforts were highlighted with personal-best performances in the discus and 1500m. Provan achieved a distance of 30.94m, shattering his previous record of 26.82m, while crossing the line in 5:03.31 in the 1500m, besting his 5:14.44 time set at the Messiah Multi. The sophomore recorded a no-height in the pole vault, but after earning personal-best marks in four of the ten events (100m, 400m, discus, 1500m), Provan finished with a total score of 4780.
Brendan Provan, competing in the long jump, just missed out on earning a medal. Placing fourth with a distance of 6.56m, the senior jumper turned in a strong performance, as teammate
Noah Keitel registered a distance of 5.76m.
In the high jump, the Falcons were represented by
Derek Heisey and
Andrew Schott. Heisey placed fourth with a height of 1.87m, tied with both the second and third place finishers. The freshman jumper faulted on his second jump, but his effort earned Messiah five points. Schott jumped to a height of 1.82m, matching his personal-best mark.
Christian Pilawski represented Messiah in the discus, notching a distance of 37.49m. The performance was a season-best mark for the junior thrower, falling just short of his personal-best distance (41.40m).
Preliminaries
Heisey recorded a strong performance in the 400m hurdles. Earning a first-place finish in the first heat, Heisey crossed the line in 55.80s, qualifying for tomorrow's final. Heisey's time was the third-fastest of all preliminary times, representing a new personal-best mark.
Competing in his first MAC Outdoor Championship, Zach Mayro earned a personal-best time in the 100m (11.36s). The time was just four-hundredths of a second away from qualifying for the finals, as B. Provan also turned in an impressive time of 11.38s.
Heading into the final day of the event, Messiah sits in third place with a total of 36 team points. Ahead of the Falcons are York (Pa.) (42) and Widener (52.5). With a strong finish tomorrow, the Falcons have a chance of capturing their first conference crown since 2002.
The Falcons are back in action tomorrow, May 8, for the final of the MAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Chester, Pa. The third day of competition is slated to begin at 12:00 p.m.
