READING, Pa. – The Messiah men's indoor track and field team competed in Day Two of the MAC Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday at the Flynn Plex in Reading, Pa. The Falcons had a strong showing in the conference championship, finishing in second place with 133 total team points, trailing only Widener University (147).
Logan Horst had a phenomenal Day Two, earning gold medals in both the 1-mile (4:21.54) and the 3000m (8:45.17).
Several Falcons earned medals, including
Matthew Puleo (silver) in the heptathlon,
Derek Heisey (silver) in the high jump, and
Brendan Provan (silver) in the triple jump.
Messiah assistant coach
Andrew Springer was also named as the first-ever MAC Assistant Coach of the Year.
Read below for highlights of Day Two:
1-Mile
Horst claimed gold in consecutive days, placing first in the 1-mile run with a winning time of 4:21.54. In addition to Horst's gold medal,
Noah Calisti and
Josiah Moyer recorded top-ten finishes. Calisti (4:27.33) placed sixth overall as Moyer (4:29.68) placed eighth overall.
Silas Buckwalter also competed in the event for the Falcons, crossing the line in 4:42.31.
Horst's time of 4:21.54 is the sixth-best 1-mile time in Messiah men's indoor track and field program history.
3000m
Horst grabbed his second gold medal of the day and his third of the championship meet in the 3000m, issuing a time of 8:45.17, topping all competition.
Kyle Costello earned himself a bronze medal in the event as well, placing third with a time of 8:47.02.
Andrew Hutchinson (8:47.16) and
Noah Calisti (8:49.64) were also key point-getters for the Falcons, placing fourth and fifth, respectively. Of the first five finishers, four were Messiah runners, a dominant performance from the Falcons.
Isaac Covert (9:00.73) and
Josiah McCarthy (9:02.03) also recorded impressive times in the event as well.
60m Dash
After issuing a qualifying time of 7.10s, Provan represented Messiah in the 60m. Provan performed well, notching a fifth-place finish with a time of 7.20s, earning the Falcons four team points, also registering a new personal-best time in the event.
60m Hurdles
Andrew Schott and
John Steele competed in the 60m hurdles finals this afternoon. The two Falcons recorded strong performances as
John Steele placed sixth overall, crossing the line in 8.78s. Steele's time is a new personal-best time. Schott recorded a time of 8.89s, placing ninth. Lebanon Valley's Owen Buhr took the gold, registering a winning time of 8.22s.
800m
Three Falcons competed in the 800m for Messiah as
Nathan Kimmel led the way, registering a top-ten finish. Kimmel placed ninth overall out of 18 runners, recording a time of 2:01.05.
Josh Bauman and
Connor Daudt also competed for Messiah in the event, earning times of 2:02.33 and 2:02.36, respectively. Amongst the strong field of competition, Bauman placed 13th overall as Daudt placed 14th overall.
Both Bauman and Daudt recorded new personal-best times in the event.
4x400m Relay
A relay squad of Hoffman, Daudt, Buckwalter, and Wilkinson turned in a strong performance in the 4x400m relay, recording a time of 3:33.05. The time was the fifth-best out of the 12 competing teams, earning the Falcons four team points. Lebanon Valley's relay team topped all competition, crossing the line in 3:26.77.
4x800m Relay
A team of Bauman, Moyer, Hostetler, and Kimmel recorded a fifth-place finish out of ten teams in the 4x800m relay. The Messiah team registered a time of 8:21.35, earning the Falcons four team points. DeSales placed first in the event, crossing the line in 8:06.77.
Heptathlon
Matthew Puleo earned himself a bronze medal in the heptathlon after a strong Day Two performance. After holding fourth place after Day One, Puleo moved up in the rankings, finishing third overall with a point total of 3891.
Gavin Dunkerton finished directly behind Puleo in the standings, finishing fourth with 3806 total points. 115
High Jump
Derek Heisey turned in a silver-medal performance in the jump, earning a top mark of 1.98m. Heisey fell just short of Widener's Valiant McKee, who topped all competition with a mark of 2.01m. With his impressive performance, Heisey earned Messiah eight team points, also recording a new personal-best mark.
Triple Jump
Provan earned himself some hardware in the triple jump event, placing second overall with a final mark of 14.18m, falling just short of DeSales' Xavier Phoenix (14.75m).
John Steele competed well in the event, placing fifth overall with a mark of 13.46m, earning the Falcons four team points.
Noah Keitel (12.02m) and
Landon Kerr (11.76m) also represented Messiah in the field event, registering strong marks.
Both Provan and Steele recorded new personal-best marks.
Pole Vault
Josiah Zehr represented Messiah in the pole vault, registering a third-place finish out of a field of four vaulters, earning a top mark of 4.20m. Zehr, the reigning MAC Outdoor Track and Field Champion in the event, earned the Falcons six team points with his performance. Stevens' Nicolas Re placed first with a mark of 4.40m.
